


I Hate Your Stupid Yellow Shorts

by someonethatsfunny



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Baker Harry, Blow Jobs, Bottom Harry, Bottom Louis, But also Louis is a tease, Did I mention the teasing?, Eventual Smut, Excessive Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy, Hand Jobs, Happy Ending, Harry is a Tease, Harry's a pool boy, M/M, Semi-Public Sex, bc yea there's a lot of teasing, bit of a slow burn, both 1D and Ed Sheeran, i'm not even sorry, light-hearted summer fic, shameless use of fandom'isms, shameless use of song lyrics, they kinda share that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-07-24 14:44:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7512263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someonethatsfunny/pseuds/someonethatsfunny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Louis’ family moves out to the country and he isn’t having it at all.  It doesn’t matter how big the garden is or how nice the pool is.  He hates the country.  And despite his mum’s poorly executed matchmaking attempt, he doesn’t care much for Harry the pool boy either.  Don’t even get him started on how ridiculous his stupid yellow shorts are because they are the worst.  Meanwhile Harry, for some reason, seems hell bent on changing Louis’ mind.  Which is fine, but Louis isn’t gonna cave.  He’s not.  He does, however, want some ofHarry's chocolate cake. And Harry wants a date. So perhaps they can work something out.<br/>OR the one where Louis gets the cake and Harry gets the boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to formally thank Harry's yellow shorts for inspiring this work of fiction.
> 
> This goes without saying (so I'll say it anyway): This is a work of pure fiction. Made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.

_~Harry~_

 

"I could do it for you if you like," he offered. A shy, dimpled smile ghosted across his lips.

"Are you sure, Harry?" Jay looked at him hopefully. "Don't get me wrong, love. I'd be extremely grateful for your help. I planned on asking Lou to take care of it this summer, but he's still really upset with me about the move.” Jay’s eyes flickered towards Anne, a touch of sadness dulling their shine.

“Change is hard, darling. I'm sure he'll come around once he gets settled in,” Anne reassured her in a quiet soothing tone.

“Can you believe that boy, though? Threatening to stay in Donny with his friends all summer instead of here with us? His family.”  Jay's eyes looked suspiciously wet and Harry prayed she didn't cry because there's no chance he could handle that. Everyone knows that anytime a mum cries, it's the absolute worst.  

“Thank god for the twins. They gave him an epic guilt trip.  Tugged on his heart strings proper good, they did.”  Sucking in a long, shaky breath, Jay continued.  “Lou really is the best boy, though.  He's missed the girls so much during his past couple years at Uni.  He wouldn't dare miss spending his summer holidays with them as well.”

"Or his mum,” Harry’s mum chimed in. “So how about you let Harry take care of the pool until Louis has had a chance to adjust and feels ready to take over? He doesn't mind. Do you, darling?" His mum smiled warmly up at him. Anne and Jay had been practically inseparable since Jay had moved her family to Alderley Edge last month. They'd met at a local FFLAG meeting and become fast friends, but to Harry and everyone else, it seemed as though they’d known one another for much longer.

So it pretty much went without saying that Harry would help out. Because of course he would. He'd always considered family the most important and his mum clearly considered Jay family already. Plus, it wasn’t as if they were asking a lot of him. The house that Jay's family and her fiancé, Dan, had moved into had a beautiful swimming pool which was a huge selling point. But unfortunately, neither of them had the slightest clue how to maintain it.  

Luckily, Harry had some time to spare. And he'd actually learned a thing or two about pools during previous summers spent as a camp counselor so it wouldn’t take much effort on his part to maintain it for them. The job he'd secured at the local bakery was only part time leaving him wide open for the rest of summer holidays. And what better way than to spend his free time poolside?

"I don't mind at all, Jay. It’s no trouble really,” Harry pushed his hand through his hair, a nervous habit he’d never managed to outgrow. “I could even, like, maybe introduce Louis to some of my friends. But only if he wants?" _Stop talking,_ he willed himself.  

No sense letting Jay know about those pictures he'd seen of Louis. Harry might've snuck a quick peek at their mantle the first time he visited their new home with his mum. And since that day, he'd been secretly counting down the days until Jay's prodigal son returned home. Was it considered lying by omission if he didn't admit to having an ulterior motive? Hopefully not. As far as Harry was concerned, nobody needed to know about the tiny little crush he was harboring. In his defense, Louis was exceptionally beautiful, so Harry couldn't be blamed for his curiousity. And anyway, it probably wouldn't amount to anything. Perhaps Louis was just one of those lucky people who photographed really well. Surely he couldn't be that good looking in person.

_~Louis~_

How had she honestly thought she'd be able to buy his forgiveness with a lousy swimming pool?  Pools were nice of course, but let's be real. This wasn't Doncaster.  No pool was ever going to change that, regardless of how nice it may be.

Louis had been looking forward to spending his summer holidays back home with the lads. _Home._ In Donny. It was the only one he remembered anyway. All his friends were coming back for the summer and they’d made so many plans. _Donny_. Far away from this place. He'd been looking forward to the music festivals most of all.  And now it looked as if he’d be missing out on all the fun. Instead of a carefree summer with his friends, he was stuck out here in the middle of nowhere. In the country. Trapped in a town where everyone undoubtedly knew everyone else. But where the only people Louis knew were his own family members. A gaggle of younger sisters, to be more specific, and a mum who was bound to be too busy with her new shiny life to pay him any mind. Lovely. Day one of life in slow motion and already he was in a foul mood over his new "home".

 _"Boo, wait til you see! You're gonna just love the pool,"_ his mum had promised him. It sounded more like a plea than a promise, though. She hadn't fooled anyone. In the end, they'd compromised. Louis had spent the first two weeks of summer back at Stan’s place before arriving here earlier today. Grumbling under his breath, he pushed his way out the double French doors and stepped down to the posh back patio. Hmph. Glancing around slowly, Louis took in the grounds of his new home for the summer. _No, not home,_ he reminded himself.  Just the house where he happened to be staying until he returned to Uni this fall.  

As much as he hated to admit it, the house was quite lovely. Nicer than the one he’d grown up in back in Donny, but no where near as cozy.  The huge stone patio housed a table and chair set large enough to seat the entire family.  There was also a built-in fire pit with surround bench seating and a state of the art grill with prep area.  To the side of the patio was a wide-open garden which was beautifully maintained and flat. The perfect place to set up a footie pitch, Louis couldn't help but notice. A path bordered by flowers in shades of every color continued from the patio towards the pool which was surrounded with the same stone. Perfectly manicured garden beds filled with more pretty flowers grew along the outer perimeter of the pool area and beyond that was more green grass.

Dan must be even more well off than Louis originally assumed because this yard clearly had a caretaker. There's no way he could maintain this on his own being a busy doctor and it's not like the girls were responsible for it. Had that been the case, there would’ve surely been some weeds mixed in with the flowers. And you’d have to trust Louis on the fact that there were no weeds. This backyard looked like something you'd find in a fancy home decor journal.

Louis continued to make his way down the path until he reached the clearing for the pool he'd heard so much about. It resembled one like you’d find at a resort, not in his family’s backyard an his breath caught for a moment as he stared down at it. Unlike the standard rectangular crystal blue pools with a white cement surround he'd swam in growing up, the water was green, much like a lake. And the bottom of the pool wasn’t plaster, but small pebbled stones instead. There was a beautiful rock waterfall feature at the one corner as well as a hot tub to the right of that. His mind immediately conjured up thoughts of cold nights spent in the hot, soothing water gazing up at the stars. It was a lovely idea, but there’s no way he’d actually admit that out loud. He was hell bent on maintaining his distaste for all things country, so acknowledging anything positive about this house was not going to happen. No way.

Louis knew he was being selfish and low-key despised himself for it. His mum had been unhappy with Mark for so long and when they'd finally divorced, it had been a messy affair. He still had residual guilt from heading to Uni just as everything started falling apart, leaving his mum and sisters to cope on their own. Now that she'd found love again with Dan, he ought to be more happy for her. Truth be told, he _was_ , but he couldn't help feeling deprived of his Donny lads and the place he’d always considered home.

With his arms folded defiantly across his chest, he started to make his way back towards the house, intent to lock himself away in his new bedroom. He figured he would spend some quality bonding time with his PlayStation until the need for sustenance forced him out of his cave again.  Just before reaching the doors, however, he heard a door slam shut in the distance followed by loud shrieks, giggles and a huge splash. Stopping in his tracks, he listened carefully to make sure that the girls were okay. That’s when he heard a deep voice laughing with them and his eyebrows shot up into his hairline because wait just a hot second - _who the hell was that?_

Hadn't his mum had said that Dan was working today?  He was quite sure that she had. Without further hesitation, Louis hurried back towards the pool to find the owner of the mystery voice. As he rounded the corner, he heard Daisy yell.   "Throw _me_ now, Harry!"  Looking at the pool, he watched as Phoebe surfaced from the underneath the water with her head thrown back in happy laughter. At least the girls were happy and not in any immediate danger, he thought as he breathed out a sigh of relief.

Still confused about who this ‘Harry’ was, though, his eyes flitted around the area surrounding the pool before coming to rest on a tall slender boy wearing obnoxious bright yellow shorts. They were far shorter than what one might consider appropriate, hugging the boy’s ridiculously fit thighs very tightly. Louis’ eyes remained glued to them without blinking for an unholy amount of time.

The continued squeals from the twins were what brought him back to reality.  Shaking his head out of the haze which had settled over him, he forced himself to stop ogling the shorts and the shapely legs which they encased. Instead, Louis’ eyes scanned up the boy’s body where he cataloged a firm set of abs framed by small soft love handles.  And just - how was that even possible? This boy was an enigma. Finally Louis’ eyes landed on the boy’s face which was unsurprisingly just as lovely as the rest of him. Louis blinked rapidly, instantly sensing trouble. The universe was cruel and unfair. It clearly wasn't enough for him to be moved out to the country against his will. Nope. Apparently, Louis was going to be tortured by a much too pretty strange boy in his own garden as well. Wonderful.

Since the boy hadn't noticed him yet, Louis took another moment to examine him from afar. Honestly, he couldn’t have resisted looking if he wanted to.  Louis had a certain appreciation for pretty boys and this boy was very, very pretty. If caught, Louis would simply blame those yellow shorts because they were seriously ridiculous. Practically obscene, in fact. He couldn’t decide whether he loved them or hated them, but it was probably a bit of both. As a means of self-preservation, Louis forced himself to keep his eyes above the boy's waist, opting instead to catalog the details of his face.  

Chocolate curls peeked out from underneath the snap-back he was wearing. Soft ringlets begging to be touched made Louis’ fingers twitch with need. A wide dimpled smile aimed at Louis’ sisters tugged heavily at his heart strings while pulling him even further under this strange boy's magical spell. There was barely enough time to admire the beauty of his smile before being drawn towards the sparkle of his eyes which quite literally twinkled with his radiant laughter. It really did feel like some kind of spell had been cast upon him. Louis was equal parts intrigued and terrified by his reaction to this boy. _Who was he?_

This pretty boy with the dimples, curls and horrible shorts was possibly going to be the death of him and they hadn’t even met yet.  

Not ready to draw attention to himself just yet, he watched curiously as Harry effortlessly tossed a delighted Daisy into the pool. She surfaced quickly, laughing just like Phoebe had done a few moments ago, smiling happily in Harry’s direction. The smile was returned tenfold and Louis wished he hadn't been watching him after all because the boy was glowing like the actual sun. God, he was so screwed. Louis needed to get himself together immediately.

It seemed that this boy (apparently named Harry) had the twins approval already, but the question still remained - _who the hell was he?_  Surely his mum wouldn’t allow random boys to hang around his little sisters when she wasn’t home!  Especially random _older_ boys. There was no doubt that Harry was closer to Louis’ age than to the girls’. Looking back at the house, he searched for any sign of his mum, but didn't see her anywhere. His need to know more about this yellow shorts-clad boy almost sent him running back inside to find her. But after giving it a second thought, Louis figured it would be quicker if he just confronted the boy himself.

Clearing his throat, he opted for a straight-forward approach.  “Does Dan have a younger brother or summat?  Because I think someone forgot to give me the memo?" Louis fixed his narrowed eyes steadily on the boy, determined not to let him know that he already had the upper hand.

Harry startled at the sound of Louis’ voice, his eyes widening comically when they landed on him. "'M. No. 'M Harry," he stuttered out in a slow, deep voice. And _fuck_. Harry's voice sounded like pure sex and Louis’ pulse immediately skyrocketed.

_~H~_

_Holy shit._ Harry had seen pictures, but he’d been nowhere near prepared for this. Louis Tomlinson in the flesh was far more beautiful than in his pictures. In person, Louis was practically ethereal as he stood before him bathed in sunshine.

"Alright, Harry," Louis said dragging out the last syllable of his name in a question, "You're not related to Dan so do you mind explaining what you're doing throwing me nine year old sisters in the pool then?" His eyes drilled into Harry's, searching for answers. His very, _very_ blue eyes that Harry absolutely did _not_ feel like he was drowning in.  A dirty lie he told himself because he one hundred percent felt like he was underwater. _Breath,_ Harry reminded himself. Accusation had come through crystal clear in Louis’ tone, so Harry forced himself to snap out of the trance he was under in order to respond.

"'M the pool boy?" He bit his lip in hopes that a short reply would be enough to pacify Louis for the time being. Words were particularly hard to form at the moment. Because, _eyes_. Seriously, they were just _so_ blue. Lucky for Harry, Louis' sisters saved him from having to speak again. They came barreling out of the pool the moment they saw their brother, simultaneously attacking Louis with hugs while drenching him in the process.

"We missed you so much, Louis!"

"Oi! I missed you girls too," he reassured them with a soft, genuine smile and breathy laugh. Harry immediately vowed to have that same smile aimed towards him someday. Sooner rather than later he hoped. "But did you have to get me completely soaked? I haven't even got me suit on yet!" Louis' weak complaint didn't match his eyes or the softened expression on his face.  

 _Fond_. Louis was obviously extremely fond of his sisters. _Same,_ Harry thought. Only Harry's excessive fond feelings happened to be directed more towards Louis than the girls. Never mind the fact that he didn't even know him yet. Louis was captivating. It might actually be a problem given the fact that Louis had been openly glaring at him mere seconds ago. Details though.

With Louis distracted by the girls, Harry took the opportunity to let his eyes travel from Louis’ face. They drifted downwards, landing on the shirt which was clinging unforgivably to his abs. The last thing Harry wanted was for Louis to catch him staring at him like a creeper, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. Every line, every curve, and every single part of Louis was clearly visible through the thin, wet cotton. Harry wanted to take off Louis' shirt with his teeth. He might’ve even whimpered out loud. God, he desperately hoped that no one heard him if he had.

Louis must have sensed Harry’s eyes glued to him because he whipped back around with renewed determination, a partial scowl upon his lips. Harry wondered if he had any idea how sexy he looked playing the role of protective big brother.  "So, Harry, not related to Dan, possibly the pool boy, but then again maybe not... Care to explain what you're doing here, manhandling my sisters might I add?"

“Ummm,” Harry trailed off in surprise. Suffice to say, that is not something that he’d expected to be accused of.

"Louis William Tomlinson!" Jay's stern voice rang out clearly from the garden path. "That is not how I raised you! Good lord, did you unlearn all of your manners at Uni?" Harry and Louis both turned towards the sound of her voice. Harry felt relieved, but Louis appeared more annoyed than anything.  When Jay rounded the corner with both hands on her hips and a glare fixed upon her son, Louis' eyes instantly filled with regret. Harry averted his own eyes and bit his lip so that Louis wouldn’t see him smiling. It was another nervous habit of his - smiling through nerves and tension. There wasno doubt Harry was a bit on edge right now. But any normal person would be had they found themselves face to face with a half pissed off, but extremely fit Louis Tomlinson.

“Harry, darling. You’ll have to excuse Louis for his poor manners. I never got the chance to tell him about you so he didn't know that he would be seeing you around the house this summer,”  Jay smiled warmly at him.

Turning towards Louis she continued, “Louis, this is Harry. Remember I told you about my new friend Anne?  Yes, of course you do,” Jay rushed forward without giving him an opportunity to respond.  “Well, Harry here is Anne’s son.” She raised her eyebrows in a challenge.  “So I reckon you’ll treat our guest politely from here on out?”  

Looking up from the spot on the ground where his eyes had been steadily focused, Harry found Louis looking properly chastened by his mum's words. To his credit, he shook it off fairly quickly. More curious now than defensive, Louis met his eyes steadily before clearing his throat. “Hello Harry. Sorry about the..,” he waved his hand around casually as a means of explanation.

“‘S okay. Nice to meet you, Louis,” Harry smiled at him and received a curt nod in response.

Seemingly unphased, Jay continued on with proper introductions. “Lou, Harry has been an absolute doll and agreed to help us maintain the pool this summer while he’s home from Uni. So of course I’ve told him to feel free to come and use it anytime he likes, so I expect you’ll actually see him quite a lot this summer. Isn’t that right, Harry?” she smiled up at him again.

Harry could feel his cheeks heating up, undoubtedly a few shades darker already. The fact that his feelings were so transparent had always been a source of distress to him. Ever since he could remember he’d been told that he was easy to read, just like an open book. God knows he would give anything to look less affected right now because it made him feel too exposed. Like a schoolboy with an embarrassing crush.

Although, truthfully, his feelings were somewhat chaotic at the moment. Was he disappointed that Louis was still eyeing him like sour milk? Or exhilarated at the prospect of possibly spending some time with him this summer?  His mind drifted towards the latter and before he knew it, he found himself wondering how tiny Louis’ swim trunks would be.   _Jesus Christ Styles. Get it together. Not the time._ Mentally undressing Louis right after being properly introduced by his mother was not something he felt particularly proud of. But this was obviously all the twins’ fault for drenching their brother in the first place. They'd unknowingly revealed Louis' extremely fit body in the process. One that Harry would like to explore much more thoroughly. Preferably with his tongue, but only if the chance presented itself, of course. And by God, he desperately hoped that it would.

_~L~_

Ohmygod, did she just wink at him? Yes. _She bloody well did._ Louis side-eyed his mum with complete dismay when he realized what she was up to. After introducing him to Harry, she'd rattled on and on about lord knows what. Up to the moment she took a sharp turn into matchmaking territory, he'd been able to tune some of it out. Blah, blah, blah…’certain you boys will get along famously this summer’...blah, blah….’so much in common’.   _Jesus Christ please make it stop._ His mum was not subtle.

The words hadn't really phased him because they could be simply chalked up to friendly chatter. But the exaggerated wink that followed? Just, _no._ That had sent blood furiously rushing to his cheeks which wasn't something that often happened to him.  Louis did not blush. He fervently hoped that Harry hadn’t caught it because seriously? How embarrassing?  What the hell was she thinking?  Was she honestly trying to set him up?  Because that was _so_ not on.  He could find a cute boy on his own, thank you very much. His mum was completely out of line and as soon as he got her alone he'd make sure she knew so much.

Obviously Louis could admit that Harry was easy on the eyes. In fact, that was a gross understatement. Harry was nothing short of beautiful if Louis was being one hundred percent honest. It should be noted that the yellow shorts he had on were ridiculous and bordered on obscene, but despite that one small detail Harry was quite beautiful. Potential illegal clothing aside.

Anyway, this was all really besides the point. The problem was that his mum had just taken a huge leap of faith. How would she even know if Harry liked boys? Maybe she'd caught Louis staring at Harry in a way that wasn't quite platonic and figured she'd help him out by giving the two of them a firm push. And while it was lovely that she cared enough to try, it was simply not okay. His mum needed to understand that she couldn't just assume things like this.

It's not as if people made habits of announcing their sexual preferences every time they met someone new. Although unsure of Harry's proclivities, Louis had been out to his mum and full family for a few years at this point. They hadn't needed to censor themselves for a long time and they'd grown comfortable with that. But she needed to understand that they weren't in Donny anymore. This was the country where folks made it their job to know everyone else's business. There was a good chance that people wouldn't be as accepting here as they were in Manchester.

How long had she even known Harry anyway?  Was it possible that he liked boys?  Of course it was, but it was equally possible he didn't. And if he was straight, Louis couldn't imagine how uncomfortable he must've felt when he realized that Jay was trying to play Cupid. And if Harry fancied blokes?  Well, Louis was sure that he'd still be less than thrilled at the prospect of being set up by his mum. Louis certainly was.

While his mind raced trying to figure out a way to erase the last five minutes from happening, Louis recalled the scene from a few years back. His family had been through so much already with years of his mum and Mark’s fights followed by their messy divorce. Somehow in the midst of it all, he’d tearfully admitted to his mum the reason he’d never brought a girl home before. Not in the traditional sense, that is. Because Louis had plenty of friends that were girls, several of whom had been to their house before. But his reaction to seeing those girls in their swimwear versus seeing Harry in his yellow shorts today? That was where the truth became much more clear. Louis liked boys, plain and simple.

When he finally said the words out loud to his mum, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. From that day forward Louis refused to lie or pretend in front of those that mattered most to him. Of course it helped that his mum had been so supportive. She’d embraced him tightly, assuring him that it didn’t change anything. The only thing that she wished for him was happiness. Whether he found that with a boy or a girl, it made no difference to her provided that the person treated him the way he deserved and that he do the same in return. His mum had smiled brightly at him before casually admitting that she’d suspected for a while now anyway. Then she’d sliced them each a huge slice of chocolate cake as if they hadn't just had a life-altering conversation. _“Chocolate cake makes everything better,”_ she’d simply stated. And that was that.  

Louis knew without a doubt he was lucky to have his mum on his side, but at the moment, he kind of wanted to strangle her. Because _no. Absolutely not._ He loved her to pieces, but there was no way she was gonna play matchmaker for him. Thanks, but no.   

Louis needed out of this conversation immediately. Five minutes ago would've actually been ideal. At least he'd found his manners prior to excusing himself. “Nice to meet you, mate. Sorry again about before. Never can be too sure when it comes to me girls, though,” he rubbed anxiously at the back of his neck.

"'S okay," Harry answered him in the same deep voice that had already rendered Louis useless one time today. Inhaling deeply, he watched as Harry smiled down towards his feet which were turned in slightly towards one another. His cheeks were tinted a pretty shade of pink, no doubt embarrassed by all the attention Jay was focusing on him.  Louis hated how endearing he found him. Because even if it turned out that Harry liked boys, he refused to be set up by his own mother. Not happening. It didn't matter how endearing Harry Styles was. However, for the record, Louis did find it interesting that Harry didn't seem put off by his mum’s horrid attempts at pushing them together. At the very least, it was a relief that he didn't appear to be homophobic. But it was also interesting at the same time.  

"Right. Okay. Well, I'm just gonna..." Louis motioned towards the house. "Guess I'll be seeing you around then, Harry."  

He was halfway to the path leading back towards the house when he could've sworn he heard Harry say, "I hope so," under his breath.

_~H~_

The next time Harry saw him, Louis was wearing a pair of swim trunks. As Harry walked towards the pool house humming quietly to himself, the sight of Louis pushing himself out of the pool stopped him in his tracks. Feeling more than a little overwhelmed, he narrowly missed tripping into some rose bushes in the garden path. And though he felt like the worst kind of creeper, Harry could do nothing but stand there frozen in place as he stared helplessly at the most beautiful boy.

When Louis stood up and ran his hands through his hair, Harry realized that he was no longer breathing. There was a pretty good chance of him passing out due to lack of oxygen, but as far as he was concerned, it would be well worth it. This was honestly better than his favorite porn. Risking embarrassment of the wort kind, he continued to stare shamelessly as water trailed down Louis’ chest. The droplets trickled down and over his abs which were flat and defined. Inappropriate thoughts assaulted Harry one after the other, crashing through his mind like waves in a choppy sea.  _Who needs oxygen anyway?_ _It's probably overrated._

Louis’ wet skin glistened, reminding Harry of the most decadent caramel. It was as if he’d swallowed part of the sun, the glow reflecting from within his body now. Harry’s fingers twitched with the desire to touch him, desperate to see if his skin was really as smooth as it appeared.  

Was beauty really only skin deep as people often said, he wondered? Harry was convinced that rule didn't apply to Louis. He'd seen his protective side over his sisters a few days ago and now he'd bared witness to a hidden strength as well. His eyes had fixated on Louis’ bulging biceps as he hoisted himself up the side of the pool with hardly any effort. He was smaller than Harry with hands the perfect size to rest inside his own, but he was strong as well and that was inexplicably hot. Once Harry’s brain absorbed this new information, his imagination ran even more wild. Images that that he had no business dreaming up had him blushing furiously despite being alone with no one else to witness his unholy thoughts _._

~~~~~

Sightings like this became more frequent as the days carried on. Each time Harry set eyes on him, he had to talk himself into breathing again. And don't even get him started on the sexual frustration. He was suffering and it was all thanks to a half naked, but fully oblivious boy. That was worst part to be honest.

Louis appeared completely indifferent to him thus far. It was almost as if Harry didn't exist at all. Like he was invisible. For some reason unbeknownst to him, Louis basically avoided Harry at all costs. And he absolutely hated how much that hurt. Jay had the uncanny ability to pick up on his mood, apologizing on Louis’ behalf more than once. _"Never mind him, love. He's in a right snit missing his boys back in Donny. Has nothing at all to do with you."_  He'd smiled weakly in response as she patted his arm. _"He'll come around."_ Words meant to reassure him did nothing of the sort.

Naturally Harry understood that Louis missed his friends and home town. It couldn't have been easy for him to move from everything familiar. And yet, according to his mum, he could've spent the full summer back home living with a friend, but chose not to on account of his sisters. Apparently Louis couldn't bear the thought of spending the holidays away from them. Harry would be a liar if he didn't admit to swooning a bit when he heard that little tidbit.

So while a part of him felt really bad for Louis, there was this other part of him as well. The frustrated part. And not just sexually, mind you. Because he'd gladly be Louis' friend if that's all he wanted. Of course, he'd happily be more than just a friend to him if he only had the chance. Truth be told, Harry would be anything Louis asked. All Louis had to do was let him.

_~L~_

Even before Lottie laid into him, Louis knew full well he was being an arsehole. With her arms folded across her chest, she'd lectured him sternly and had looked so much like his mum whilst doing so that frankly, it frightened him. Everything she said had been true as well. He _was_ utterly ridiculous, immature, petty and so forth.  He knew this. The problem was that he didn’t care to do anything about it. Stubborn to a fault, Louis absolutely refused to give his mum the satisfaction of befriending the made-to-order boy she’d hand selected for him.

"Lewis, you are such a dick, I swear to god. What the hell is your problem with him anyway? Harry is actually a really nice guy. And in case you didn't notice, he's easy on the eyes! So it would be great if you could like...not scare him away with your nastiness."

Knowing that she was right didn't stop him from throwing his head back to laugh loudly at Lottie's tirade. Because no way was his fourteen year old sister crushing on a nineteen year old boy. No fucking way. And the funniest part about it, the most ironic part really, was the fact that Louis was pretty sure that Harry was gay.

At a bare minimum, he wasn't straight. Because Louis had observed Harry adjusting himself the other day after he eyed up Louis in a lounger by the pool. And not so discreetly he might add. Obviously Harry hadn't noticed Louis watching him from behind his Ray Bans. Louis was stealthy. It was a gift and lately he’d been putting his talent to the test. Because much to his own annoyance, Louis often found himself with a stray eye upon Harry.

It's a shame he was so hell bent against his mum's grand plan because Harry was a really lovely person to observe. It wasn't just his stupid yellow shorts either. Although the shorts didn’t help matters any. The way in which they clung to his thighs unforgivingly was practically obscene. They left very little to Louis' imagination and had the ability to render him stupid, but they weren't the only reason he was intrigued. (Honestly though, did he even own any other swim trunks? Louis couldn't recall seeing him wear anything else.)  

It was more than that, though. It was his deep set dimples which became evident anytime he smiled with pure happiness. It was the fact that Harry seemed to actually enjoy spending time with Louis' younger sisters. He was incredible with them, in fact. Louis had watched from his bedroom window one afternoon as Harry sat patiently in one of the loungers allowing Phoebe and Daisy to plait tiny braids all over his head. His eyes had remained gently closed, a small smile playing upon his lips the whole while. It was clear to see that he wasn't bothered by them at all. Rather, he seemed both peaceful and content in their company. Harry was truly fascinating to him.

There was also his complete lack of shame as he danced (if that’s what one called dancing). The way he moved with the pool skimmer to whatever song happened to be playing in his earbuds had further endeared Louis to him. When he realized that he'd been caught by Louis, his cheeks had turned the prettiest shade of pink, his eyes suddenly interested in his own feet. Harry was good looking, sweet and hopelessly endearing. Truth be told, he was exactly the type of boy Louis would have been drawn to on his own. Without the help of cupid's arrow.

Had Louis met Harry without his mum’s interference, he probably would've attempted to coax out his deep dimples with his witty humor. Perhaps even poked his finger into one of them in an effort to make him laugh. He’d have swallowed Harry’s giggles when he leaned forward to capture the boy’s fuller bottom lip between his thinner ones, biting him gently. He’d have felt Harry gasp into his own mouth as he licked inside, exploring him, tasting him and learning him. And he would've loved every second of it. Sadly, none of that would be happening because there's no way he could give into his mum’s scheming. He refused. So that was that.

Louis figured Harry wasn't one hundred percent straight, but that didn't mean he was gay either. Therefore no one could blame Louis for internally flipping out when Lottie paraded herself around the pool later that week in a skimpy black bikini. And it wasn't because he was jealous. That would obviously be ridiculous. Regardless, Harry should consider himself lucky he barely blinked at her. Lucky that Louis didn’t need to defend her honor, that is. He definitely wasn't jealous because that would mean he felt something for the boy. Which. He didn't. Clearly he was just being protective of his little sister

It was also a good thing that Lottie didn't seem upset at the fact that Harry barely blinked at her. Louis couldn't help feeling smug as fuck about it. Because later that same afternoon, he'd once again watched Harry adjusting himself while pretending to clear the filters for the fifth time that day. And he’s pretty sure he’d had his eyes trained on Louis at the time because the boy was not subtle. Not even a little bit. It didn't seem that Harry had  _any_ interest in tiny black bikinis and Louis was practically vibrating with this knowledge. Honestly, you'd be smug too if you had a boy as pretty as Harry Styles peeping on you. Not that it meant anything, of course. Because it didn't. _It didn’t._

   _~H~_

Harry was beyond frustrated.  And this time, it _was_ sexual. Because as it turns out he hadn’t actually missed the way Louis’ eyes followed him around these last couple of weeks. It made no sense at all given the fact that he barely spoke to him. They'd hardly exchanged ten words since that first day and Harry hadn't the slightest clue why.

What could he possibly have to do with Louis missing his friends back in Doncaster anyway? Harry didn’t even know them for God’s sake. Jay insisted it had nothing to do with him and she'd ordered him not to pay him any attention to Louis, but that was easier said than done.  

Louis wasn't exactly an easy person to ignore. Easily the loudest person in the house, Louis commanded attention without even trying. And had Harry mentioned the caramel skin, the captivating blue eyes or his bum? _Jesus Christ, the bum on him._

There was another reason as well. Harry had the unfortunate flaw of caring too much what people thought about him so being dismissed like that had hurt more than it should have. It kept him awake at night wondering _why._

Before he even met Louis, Harry had thought him beautiful and looked forward to getting to know him. He’d fantasized about the two of them spending time together. Even imagined introducing Louis to his friends so he wouldn't feel so lonely here. It was safe to assume now that none of those things would be happening anytime soon.

And that wasn’t the only disappointing realization either. Because Harry had entertained fantasies far less friendly in nature as well. In fact, one of them had inspired him to wrap his hand around himself in the shower last night, but he refused to think about that. There had actually been more than one inspired hand job, but he didn’t allow himself to think about any of them. It was counterproductive and he was already frustrated enough.

And why was he so frustrated?  Well, the problem was that Louis had taken to watching him when he didn’t think anyone would notice. Harry _did_ notice, though. And each time he felt Louis’ eyes on him, his skin felt like it was burning. It was almost as if Louis’ eyes were touching his body and that was great, but Harry wanted his actual fingers on him instead. More than anything, he wanted to touch Louis’ sun kissed skin as well.

The other day, Harry had been playing an intense game of Scrabble with Lottie and Fizzy when he could've sworn he’d seen Louis mouth a suggestion in his direction. Slowly, he'd blinked his eyes in confusion only to open them again to see Louis walking away from them, his back facing them all. Afterwards, Harry convinced himself that he’d imagined it. Which was in and of itself disturbing. Hallucinating had to be a new low for him and it wasn't something to be proud of.

Later that same week he’d watched from a distance as Louis and his sisters ran around the side garden playing footie together. Caught up in the moment, Louis had radiated pure happiness. His head had tilted back towards the sun as laughter spilled from his lips. It lit up his face, highlighting his eyes which crinkled at the corners in laughter. Time stood still, all thoughts eluding Harry with the exception of one. _He is so, SO beautiful. I just want to know him._

It had progressed to the point where more often than not, Harry could sense Louis’ eyes upon him. It was the rule rather than the exception now. There was even a time when he couldn't see Louis anywhere in the vicinity and yet, if you'd ask him, Harry would swear he’d been watching him. It became a twisted game between the two of them. Both of them watching the other, neither admitting it and very few words being exchanged. It was unsettling to say the least.

The day Harry caught Louis watching him while he foolishly danced with the pool skimmer was somewhat horrific, but strangely enough, it had also given him a brief surge of hope. Because as much as he found Louis’ pension for ignoring him upsetting, Louis’ attention on him when he was least expecting it was thrilling in a warped sense. Surely he wouldn't be watching him so often if he wasn’t at least a tiny bit interested. Right?

So they were at a standoff. Harry didn’t have the slightest clue what to think anymore since Louis, perhaps unknowingly, was sending him all kinds of mixed messages. The way he saw the situation, he really didn't have anything left to lose. Summer was passing by quickly and he'd gotten precisely nowhere by not trying at all. Being reduced to his own hand in the shower was unsatisfactory at best so something needed to change. With renewed determination, he planned to come back the following day. And this time he'd make sure to give Louis something special to watch. With a little bit of luck, it might just work. And if not, he’d be back to lonely showers spent with his right hand. God, he really hoped it worked.

_~~~~~_

 

_I would like to extend a huge thank you to both[Lexi ](http://idareyoutotakealook.tumblr.com/)and [Roni](http://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/) for being my cheerleaders, my brit pick and beta.  You are the absolute best and I am eternally grateful!!!  Having said that, any and all mistakes are my own as I have a terrible habit of going back to edit more times than anyone should. _

_Thank you so much for reading. If you liked it and feel like sharing,[here is a link for the tumblr post](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147552164810/i-hate-your-stupid-yellow-shorts-au-where-louis). Feedback is always appreciated.  It's a lot like chocolate cake. _

_I plan to update every 4-7 days.  The majority of the fic is already written and still being edited.  Overall, I expect it to fall between 5-6 chapters and roughly 40-50k._

_Thank you again for reading.  I hope that you enjoy :D_

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This goes without saying (so let me say it anyway): This is a work of pure fiction made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.

 

_~L~_

_What. The. Actual. Fuck?_   Louis was in hell. Hell had a name and that name was Harry Styles. Louis wasn’t sure how, but Harry had done a complete one-eighty overnight. Gone was the sweet, pretty pool boy who spent his free time entertaining his younger sisters. In his place was a ridiculously hot as fuck pool boy that had somehow managed to reduce Louis to what could best be described as a hot mess. He’d been forced to run into the small pool house to escape him, palming himself roughly through his swim suit before anyone could see that he’d actually been affected by the boy. No one could know - especially not his mum who would never let him live it down.

The day had started off innocently enough. Louis had walked out to the pool late that morning to find Harry bent over the filter digging inside for something. He might have spent longer than strictly necessary admiring the view, but no one would ever know. “Alright over there, Curly? You didn’t lose something in there, did you?” he innocently inquired. Louis derived a certain kind of pleasure from watching Harry jump each time he made an effort to speak to him. Granted, it wasn't that often which might've been why, but it was endearing just the same. This time was different, however, because Harry didn’t jump at the sound of his voice.

Rather, he remained bent over the filter throwing a cheeky grin over his shoulder and answering nonchalantly, “Nah, mate. I did find an unidentified tube of a gel-like substance, though. Maybe it’s yours?”

Louis’ mouth hung open in shock as he continued to stare at Harry’s backside. Did he really just say that? Sweet and innocent pool boy Harry? Perhaps he’d imagined it? Because he was currently bent over the filter again as if no words had exchanged between them at all.

He hadn’t slept well last night so maybe he was losing his mind, because it seemed unreasonable that Harry had just accused him of losing lube in the pool filter. Shaking his head to himself, he backed away quietly and settled himself into one of the lounge chairs, making sure it faced away from the cheeky pool boy. He’d just close his eyes for a few minutes and everything would be back to normal. Probably.

_~~~~~_

Things were NOT back to normal. Louis had closed his eyes for what felt like just a fleeting second only to open them again to the sound of Harry’s voice. Singing. He was singing. Loudly he might add and into the pool skimmer as if it were a mic stand. He was wearing earbuds and had his back to Louis as he belted out Mick’s famous words about not getting any satisfaction.

That wasn’t all, though. There was more. Harry was grinding on the skimmer pole whilst singing his heart out. His hips circled the pole seductively, working it like it was his fucking job. Louis blinked rapidly trying desperately to make some kind of sense of the scene unfolding before him, but it was impossible. It made no sense whatsoever. As he attempted to wrap his head around this less than innocent version of Harry, the boy in question spun around and caught Louis with his eyes glued to him. And Louis should've had the decency to look away, but he couldn't if his life depended on it.

Without breaking eye contact, Harry continued singing the words straight to him. “I can’t get no. Oh no, no, no.” _Jesus Christ._ Louis was going to die. Or spontaneously explode in his shorts. Probably the latter.

How had he never noticed Harry’s eyes before? They were green. Light green like trees in the beginning of spring when they're just starting to come back to life. And they were currently drilling a hole straight into Louis, doing strange things to him in the process. Logic told him for the second time to look away and he desperately wanted to. But Harry was licking his lips now. Obscenely. He was licking his plush pink lips, looking every bit like a young Mick Jagger. All while staring at Louis.

This was far too much. Louis was completely overwhelmed. In a blind panic, he stumbled out of his lounge chair and bolted straight for the pool house. Slamming the door closed behind him, he palmed himself through his swim trunks in a fruitless attempt to relieve some of the pressure. He was at half mast already and it was all down to the curly haired pool boy that had for some reason chosen today to reveal another side of himself. A side that Louis’ dick was apparently more than a little interested in.

Swim trunks, as it so happened, did very little to hide inconvenient pop-ups so Louis’ current condition was more than a little concerning. He'd promised himself he wouldn't give his mum the satisfaction (huh...how ironic) of falling for Harry’s charm, though, so this was an emergency situation of utmost importance. Clearly, Louis needed to take a long pool break. Otherwise he risked his sisters catching on to his downstairs situation and there's no way he could allow that. Absolutely not.

Actually, come to think of it, hadn’t his mum told him they were all out running errands today? He was almost certain she had and the relief he felt when he realized he wouldn't be caught was profound. Because what if they'd happened to catch Harry’s provocative show? Thank God for small miracles, Louis supposed. Now, for the real question, though.  What the hell was he gonna do about the curly-haired pool boy? The one who seemed hell bent on making Louis go back on all his promises?

_~H~_

It had taken literally everything within Harry’s power to maintain eye contact with Louis while performing The Rolling Stones classic for him. Harry had suspected for a while now that he wasn’t the only one pining for more between them and he was on a mission to get Louis to admit it. Perhaps ‘more’ wasn’t the right word given the fact that they currently had nothing between them to speak of, but the point stood regardless.

Despite his efforts to seem indifferent, Harry had caught Louis watching him on multiple occasions. He couldn’t help but wonder what caused Louis to behave the way he did towards him. Had he done something to offend him somehow? One minute Harry felt like nothing but the help; a lonely pool boy who Louis couldn’t be arsed to bother with. The next minute he’d be gazing after him intently, as if he were studying him for an exam. There were times Harry was almost able to convince himself that Louis yearned for the same things as him. Thought perhaps he wanted to know Harry the same way that Harry desperately wanted to know him. However, other times, he felt as if he’d simply imagined the whole thing. Like he was pushed to the edge by his own desire.

Frankly, he’d had enough. He’d caught Louis watching him multiple times now and Harry was done with the guessing games. If he played his cards the right way, he felt confident he could get Louis to see him as someone worth getting to know better. In more ways than one, preferably.

Jay had relentlessly begged him to be patient with her son and her encouragement had served as extra fuel for his mission. She was convinced that Louis would eventually come around, insisting the two of them would grow to be the greatest of friends. Her unrelenting enthusiasm was encouraging, but it was also a tiny bit concerning. Because each time the subject of Louis had come up, Jay’s smile had been eerily reminiscent of the cheshire cat.  He'd started to suspect her of having ulterior motives when it came to their relationship (or lack thereof). Honestly, he was torn between being flattered and horrified that their mums might be scheming to push him and Louis together romantically.

Through conversations with his own mum, Harry knew that Jay was aware of his preferences towards men. The topic had apparently come up organically at a FFLAG meeting during early days in their friendship. Since the beginning of time, he’d been out to everyone he knew so it hadn’t even phased him when his mum casually brought it up one day. Of course, at the time, he hadn’t figured the two of them might be secretly plotting to set their sons up. Come to think of it, Jay hadn’t concealed the fact that her son fancied men as well. Rather, she’d seemed happy to share the information with him at the time. Thrilled even. Perhaps he needed to have a conversation with his mum about meddling.

Although at this point it didn’t matter if both of their mums, along with their sisters, neighbors and friends were pushing for the two of them to get together. Harry was sure of what he wanted. That was the bottom line. There really was no two ways about it. Harry wanted Louis and he had since the moment he’d first set eyes on him. When Louis fled to the pool house that day, he could barely believe his own eyes because two things had become crystal clear. That was _not_ a banana in his shorts and a certain part of Louis had definitely been affected by his little show. Harry prayed that he was reading Louis’ signals correctly because if he was able to elicit that kind of reaction from him, then he had every intention of upping his game the next time.

_~L~_

_No, no, no._ No. It was happening again. Why was it happening again? Harry was staring at him. Water dripped from his hair down his face until it reached his lips where he poked his tongue out to capture it. His very wet, very shiny, and very plush pink lips. Without breaking eye contact, Harry dragged his fingers through his hair and Louis stared back at him helplessly, watching the ringlets as they bounced. He imagined pulling on the curls himself and those were just his PG-rated thoughts. He had many inspired thoughts all of the sudden.  
  
Louis had purposefully stayed away from the pool for the last few days. In fact, he'd been so desperate to get away that he’d splurged on a rail ticket back to Donny. His visit with the lads had truly been the some of the best medicine for him. Filled with beer, Fifa, music and footie, it was almost everything that Louis loved best. Almost, but not quite.

So back to the country he had come. To a house filled with the squealing laughter of his sisters. Where he was the recipient of Lottie's petulant stares, but also delicious home-cooked meals prepared by his mum. The house was overflowing with love and adoration for him, Lottie's teenage angst aside. It made no difference to them that he’d been insufferable whilst missing the lads and their former home. They'd all continued to love him regardless. Their gentle tolerance of his less than stellar behavior had slowly, but surely begun to erase his anger. The disappointment at being ripped away from the only place which truly felt like home to him was finally beginning to fade a little.

 

_~~A few days ago~~_

_Being back in Doncaster was incredible, but without his old house or his family, he was surprised to find that it felt a lot less like home. When the guys asked him about his family’s new place, he found himself going on and on about the footie pitch that he and the girls had set up in the side garden. With a broad smile, he insisted that they all take a trip this summer to see him. If nothing else, they should at least test out the pool and fire up the grill._

_Later that night, when him and Stan were the only ones still awake, Stan asked him if he’d met any cute boys in the country. He mustered far less enthusiasm when answering that particular question. His cheeks turned a deep shade of pink as he told Stan to fuck right off instead. Of course, Stan being Stan refused to do any such thing and instead, continued needling him until he finally caved. Somehow, Louis found himself spilling every single detail about Harry down to his stupid yellow shorts. He’d even explained to Stan how he constantly felt like he was coming undone around him, but refused to do anything about it._

_“But why?” Stan pushed him. “I mean, from what you’ve told me so far, it sounds like it’s mutual so what’s the problem? Is this some kind of special gay code I’m not meant to understand or summat?”_

_Louis rolled his eyes at that and gave Stan a painful nipple twist in response before offering an explanation. “Mate, you don’t get it. 'M pretty sure me mum set this whole thing up. Like she thought Harry was some kind of consolation prize for moving me to the country which is complete shit!  And I can't just cave into her evil plans. Fuck that. No chance. She can’t buy my acceptance with a ridiculously fit pool boy! I’m never gonna like it there and she's just gonna have to deal with it.”_

_He wasn’t prepared for Stan to throw his head back in laughter while he was clearly pouring his heart out over here. He needed support for fucks sake! “The fuck, Stan? Did you hear a word I just said? I’ve been gone for less than a month and already you’re a bigger twat than when I lived here! I'm gonna have to move back just to straighten your sorry arse out!"_

_“Mate, I heard every word you said and that is the sorriest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard!” he continued laughing._

_“Well, I’m glad I dragged myself here to see you sorry lot. Clearly you’re lacking proper entertainment without me here in Donny if this is amusing to you. For future reference though, instead of being a complete arsehole about my ‘bullshit life’, I’d quite prefer you to fuck off instead.” Louis spat out his words in disgust with his arms folded across his chest. He refused to think about how much he sounded like Lottie when she was being her most petulant._

_Stan put his hands up in a gesture of innocence and reigned in his laughter before offering an explanation. “Louis, wait. ‘M sorry. It’s just...listen to me for a second.  You do like it in the country. Did you even hear yourself earlier tonight? You were going on and on about the yard like you were trying to sell the land.” He paused for a moment, probably waiting for Louis to respond or even fight back, but when he remained silent, Stan pressed forward. “You like it there, Lou. Just admit it. You like Dan. You seem really happy for your mum which is great, by the way. You like the yard, the pool, and I really, really hate to be the one to break it to you, but...Mate? I'm pretty sure you like Harry too.”_

_Louis’ body remained perfectly still while he blinked rapidly, attempting to process the words Stan had just said. Obviously, it wasn’t true. It couldn't be. Louis had done everything within his power to try and avoid this very thing. There’s no way he could have actually been stupid enough to let himself fall into like with the boy. Right? That would be utterly ridiculous._

_He didn't. Did not. Nope. Didn't like him even a little. Stan was clearly mistaken. There were too many things which Louis disliked about him for liking him to even be a possibility. Take for example, Harry's stupid yellow shorts. Louis absolutely despised them. They were obnoxious, loud and much too tight.  And they were always right there, just sitting there on Harry’s thighs, hugging them perfectly, showcasing his gorgeous legs and...oh fuck. Fucking fucker. God damn it! Stan was right._

_Somehow, while he’d been preoccupied with missing Donny and the lads, he’d grown attached to their new home without even realizing it. To the country! Who even was he anymore? Despite his best efforts to remain detached and unaffected, it had happened without his permission. Stan’s words were pushing him to admit things he didn’t want to. Louis had actually grown fond of the country if you can believe that nonsense. Fond of the house, its gardens and the slower pace of life there. But the hardest thing to accept was the fact that Louis had grown fond of the ridiculously endearing pool boy and his stupid yellow shorts._

_All of his problems shifted instantaneously. How on earth could he go back to Alderley Edge where Harry would be there in those same shorts just casually existing by their pool? How was he supposed to restrain himself from making a move?_

_Holding himself back had never never been a strength of Louis’. When he wanted something, he went for it. Plain and simple. And as Stan had so kindly pointed out just now, Louis apparently wanted Harry. Fuck. He really, really did. This wasn't supposed to happen. Louis had planned for the exact opposite of this, in fact. If and when his mum found out, she would never let him live it down._

_Although technically speaking, maybe she wouldn't actually find out. Because who's to say Harry would even want him back? It seemed a possibility at one point, but the last time they’d seen one another it hadn’t gone so well. Louis had made an even bigger mess of things when he slammed into the pool house in blind panic and then fled here straight afterwards. Truth be told, he hadn’t treated Harry very well at all. Certainly not the way he deserved to be treated._

_The most horrible part about it was that Harry had tried so hard to befriend him. Louis could see it clearly now as he thought back on it. Multiple times, Harry had tried coaxing him into pool games with him and the girls, but Louis had declined every invitation. Harry had even sat beside Louis one day rambling on and on about nonsensical things in that deep voice of his. Asking Louis questions like whether lobsters really mated for life or which character from Friends was his favorite (no they don’t and Chandler for the record). Louis had kept his answers brief and his smile clipped as a protective measure. Basically, he'd been a complete arsehole, shutting down all of Harry's friendly advances. His belly felt sick with regret over his poor behavior. Honestly, he wouldn't be at all surprised if Harry wanted nothing to do with him. Louis probably deserved that._

_For the record, being nasty to Harry was never part of Louis’ plan. Avoiding him happened to be the best defense he could come up with at the time. Simply put, it was the only way to prevent himself from falling for the boy. From that very first day when he’d taken inventory of Harry’s curls, dimples and slow deep voice, it was clear that any friendly relationship they developed would result in Louis pining hopelessly for him. Obviously he couldn’t allow that to happen because that would mean giving into his mum and her matchmaking plans. So he did the only thing he knew how. He hid from him. He hid behind sunglasses, behind his sisters and behind his own quiet facade. And he cringed now knowing full well how it must have seemed to Harry at the time. The kicker was that all of his efforts were in vain because it had happened anyway!_

_Still in shock, Louis finally looked back at Stan as his profound words washed over him. Words which changed everything. "Fuck."_

_"Well I’m thinking you probably could if you stop being such a twat. And if that’s what you want, then you definitely should," he replied with a loud bark of laughter._

_"Not helpful, Stanley."_

_~~~~~_

And that's how he ended up making the decision to travel back home the very next day - back to his new home in the country that is. It was high time for Louis to admit that this was his new home. His home was with his family and his family was in Alderley Edge. Life as a country boy was not something he’d ever envisioned for himself, but life is funny like that. It surprises you when you’re least expecting it and even if it isn’t a welcome surprise at the time, the important thing is that you feel like you’re living. And if Louis’ erratically beating heart was any indication, he was most certainly living.

After making his friends promise to come visit him before summer’s end, Louis hugged Stan tightly with an unspoken thank you before boarding the rail. “Go get your boy,” Stan whispered quietly in his ear, making sure Louis was the only one to hear him. It was bittersweet leaving for the second time in a month when he had such great friends, but it was time for him to go.

The reason he’d come in the first place was to escape from feelings which, at the time, he didn't understand. Harry’s seductive rendition of the Mick Jagger classic had sent him running, but now, thanks to Stan, he found himself hoping for a repeat performance. The night prior, him and Stan had finished off all the beer and with loosened lips he’d admitted out loud that he, Louis Tomlinson, was attracted to Harry Styles, the pretty pool boy.

This was an actual thing that had happened. He’d fallen for Harry’s dimpled smile, his slow deep voice, and much as he hated to admit it - those ridiculous yellow shorts and the way they showed off his fit body. The fact that he was always so sweet and attentive with his sisters, his mum and pretty much everybody he encountered was the final nail in the coffin for Louis because Harry was _nice. Really fit and really nice._ God, Louis had been so stupid.

Perhaps he could convince Harry to give him a second chance. Second, because if that serenade was his first chance, as Louis suspected it was, then he had royally blown it. Hopefully, he hadn’t ruined things permanently because he’d really like the opportunity to redeem himself. For the rest of his journey, his mind ran in circles, attempting to come to terms with what he wanted most. Of course the answer was Harry, but was he willing to cave in the standoff against his mum? It was no surprise, really, that sleep eluded him for the full journey back home.

_~~~~~_

Not more than a few minutes after arriving back at the house, Louis found himself already making his way towards the back garden in hopes he'd find a certain dimpled boy. As he turned the corner to the pool area, his eyes immediately settled upon Harry who stood underneath the waterfall with his head tilted backwards in the spray. Water raced down his body, gliding over his abs and his v-line. His stupid yellow shorts were soaked all the way through, leaving virtually nothing to Louis' imagination. Images flashed by rapidly like an old film reel in his mind. Pictures of them under the waterfall together. Touching...kissing.

Fucking hell. Louis would be hard any second now if he didn’t get his thoughts under control. Fortunately, Harry hadn’t spotted him yet and that was a damn good thing because he was currently frozen in place as he took in the sight before him.

It had taken Louis a long time to properly acknowledge his attraction for Harry, but now that he had, he felt like a man dying of thirst. His hands itched to touch him, curious to see how his skin would feel under his fingers. The various spots of ink on his body were like treasure maps, just begging to be explored. His entire body was humming with the desire to be closer to Harry and it was all a bit distressing.

There was a distinct possibility that he wasn't gonna make it. Harry Styles and his ridiculous shorts were going to be the cause of his demise and those would be the words actually etched upon his tombstone. _"Herein lies the body of Louis Tomlinson, taken from us far too soon. A sad fool, lost to the world over a stupid pair of yellow shorts and a too pretty pool boy. RIP."_

As the image of his future gravesite flashed through his mind, someone flicked him in the back of the head, effectively bringing him back to the present. "Welcome back, arsehole," Lottie greeted him none too sweetly.

"Ow! Lotts, what the hell?" He whined as he rubbed the sore spot. He was sensitive, okay? Don't judge.

Rolling her eyes towards the sky, she snorted at him. "Whatever, Lewis. Don’t be such a diva. I just came out because Mum asked me to let you know that us girls are all heading out for the day. Mum’s treating us to a girls’ day of shopping and then dinner and a movie. Oh and Dan’s working a double shift so you're on your own until later tonight. I'm sure it pains you to hear that," she nodded with a deliberate wink in Harry’s direction.

Louis was about to grill her about the wink, but before he got the chance, he was interrupted by the same slow deep voice which had haunted him for his entire trip home. “I could keep you company. Like, if you didn’t want to be alone.”

Lottie’s eyes lit up with a smile which was slightly frightening to be honest. Louis wasn't where she’d learned her evil tendencies. Obviously not from him. Not possible. He’d been away at Uni so clearly she’d had another mentor. Had her snark been directed at anyone else he would've possibly been impressed, but being the target of her pointed sarcasm had altered his perspective somewhat. With another cheeky wink, she giggled loudly as she began walking towards the house. “Have fun boys,” she sang out clearly as she disappeared around the corner.

With Lottie gone, Louis was fresh out of excuses and places to hide so he forced himself to turn around and face Harry. As he watched him shake the water from his hair, Louis couldn’t help thinking about how much Harry looked like baby Tarzan. Wild, free and uninhibited. With a big smile plastered across his cheeks, Harry returned Louis’ gaze steadily. It was clear he’d caught the tailend of his and Lottie’s conversation since he was standing only a few feet away. He must’ve moved out from the waterfall while they’d been speaking. Louis remained quiet for a moment, turning Harry’s offer over in his mind and trying to think of a witty response. Quick banter was usually his strong suit, but he was at a loss for words right now. Nerves had taken over and that could probably be blamed mostly on the yellow shorts of death.

Would he be lucky enough to get a second chance after all? Perhaps not if he didn’t find his voice soon because as he remained silent, the smile dropped slightly from Harry’s face and along with it, his deep set dimples. And Louis couldn’t have that. There was no universe where he should be the one responsible for taking Harry’s smile away. His head started to spin immediately with ideas for how to get the dimples to reappear. “Are you gonna wear those shorts tonight?”

 _What.The.Fuck? Where was his brain to mouth filter?_ Louis wanted to punch himself the second those words left his lips. _That was awful_.

Looking down at himself and then back up at Louis, Harry responded with a cheeky, “Yep,” making sure to pop the p. His dimples were back and Louis was secretly thrilled about it, but he was also irritated at himself. Somehow, with only seven short words, he’d given away the upper hand again. Harry looked so fucking cocky right now. That question had been transparent as hell and had clearly given Harry a jolt of confidence. Standing there now, smacking a piece of gum between his lips, Harry looked every bit like the cat who got the cream. Louis would love to know how the hell he made the simple act of chewing gum look so ridiculously hot.  
  
"I think Lotts has a little crush on you," Louis offered, desperate for a change of subject. Why was he so fixated on those stupid shorts? His obsession was honestly becoming problematic.

"I doubt that, mate," Harry chuckled while continuing to smack his gum obnoxiously. Were his eyes fucking twinkling at him? Motherfucker. Louis was quickly losing it and he hated this feeling. He never lost anything. Least of all himself. This was unacceptable.

"She wore her black bikini last week. I've got four sisters and a young mum with lots of friends. Pretty sure I know what that means, mate," he spat back sarcastically. Louis didn't appreciate the fact that Harry seemed to be laughing at him. It wasn't fucking funny, okay? Also, did he mention how much he hated this? He'd never been so affected by a boy before. He'd never been so at a loss for conversation either and it was completely unsettling.

"Louis. You know our mums met at a FFLAG meeting, right? It’s not like it's a secret or summat. Lottie knows about me. So I'm pretty sure her black bikini, which incidentally, I never noticed, wasn’t for me. Mate," he tacked on for good measure. Harry's eyes never left his and much to his disdain, the gum smacking continued as well.

Propping both hands on his hips, Louis stared back at Harry incredulously. _God damn it._ Louis hated that shitty piece of gum. He wanted to reach in and rip it out of Harry’s stupid mouth. His stupid mouth with the plush pink lips. Fuck, no he didn't. He wanted to lean into Harry and bite his bottom lip before licking inside to see what flavor his gum was. Jesus Christ, what the hell was happening to him? He felt as if he was spinning out of control... _and hold on. Wait just a second. What the hell had Harry just said? They met at a FFLAG meeting…?_

“Oh,” Harry exhaled softly, the cocky gum smacking stopping at the same time. “I guess you didn’t know?”

“I...I didn’t even know me mum attended meetings still,” he responded in a voice not much louder than a whisper.

“Oh. Well, you’re not upset, are you? Like it’s not a problem, right? Me knowing about you, I mean?” he was studying Louis intently with his eyebrows furrowed in concern. It was curious the way Harry vacillated from cocky to bashful so quickly. Almost as if he was riding the same emotional rollercoaster as Louis. Strangely enough, he found Harry’s humility a comforting balm to his own chaotic mind.

_~H~_

Emotional would be an understatement. Harry had sailed directly from over-confident to questioning himself and all his life choices in a matter of seconds. He wondered if Louis had any idea how infuriatingly confusing he could be. Did he know he drove Harry completely crazy? That he’d driven him crazy since the very first day when he’d appeared in the back garden and basically accused him of being a child molester? Harry had been lost to him even then, drowning in the sharp gaze of his crystal blue eyes. Since that day, he’d basically been gone for him and the attraction had only grown stronger each day that passed.

And since that day, he'd tried so many times to start up a meaningful conversation with Louis and failed. His worst crash and burn was probably the time he'd banked on Louis knowing all the Friends episodes. When he failed to understand the question about lobster mating rituals Harry felt seriously deflated. Honestly, who missed a blatant Friends reference? Apparently Louis. Suffice to say, he’d been more than a little disappointed.

Despite feeling that he'd been more than a little obvious, Harry suspected that Louis had no clue at all, actually. One thing in particular stuck out to him, but Louis would never know anything about it. He'd barely noticed the day that Harry wore a pair of black trunks instead of his favorite yellow ones. But Harry had. Louis hadn’t looked at him nearly as often that day so that night Harry had gone out and purchased a second pair of yellow swim trunks. It was shameful how much he craved Louis’ attention. He wanted his eyes on him always and was constantly thinking of clever things to say to engage him.

If he’d thought for even one second that Louis’ behavior towards him was indicative of who he truly was as a person, he would’ve given up ages ago. Harry believed differently though. He understood that Louis was simply having a hard time with his family's move to Alderley Edge. His quick wit and humor became evident anytime he bantered with Lottie and the gentle, caring manner in which he spoke to Jay tugged at Harry’s heart strings. But the way Louis behaved around his sisters when he didn’t think anyone was watching? That was truly a sight to behold.  
His smile shined the brightest when he was playing footie with his sisters in the garden. It could light up a stadium all on its own. The protective nature which Harry had witnessed that first day actually ran a mile deep. He protected the girls from everything, including himself. On the pitch, Louis regularly let them win so that their confidence was built up. The girls would grow stronger in more ways than one because of him and that spoke volumes of his character. _This_ was the Louis whom Harry chose to see. _This_ was the person who had successfully drawn him into his web without even trying. Louis was a good person. Of that much, Harry was sure.

The fact that he had a beautiful face, eyes to drown in and a thousand watt smile was a part of the intrigue for sure, but it wasn't everything. Even Louis' body, akin to pure sin, wasn't responsible for Harry's state of infatuation. Of course, his looks hadn’t hurt matters at all. Harry could obviously admit that his looks had been what initially drew him in. Anyone with eyes would be hard pressed not to be at least a little in love with Louis.

His beauty was just a happy bonus for Harry, though, because he’d fallen for the person Louis was inside. A person who didn't allow others to see him very often, preferring to keep the most important parts about himself close to his chest. Louis was lovely. He’d heard Louis call people 'love' in casual conversation regularly, but he'd never once used the term for Harry. More than anything, Harry wished for that.

Before bringing up the way their mums had met, Harry had started to think that the feelings might be mutual. The strong pull towards him sometimes felt two-sided. Like they were two magnets, one struggling to get closer and the other barely able to resist the pull. Now he feared that he may have been mistaken. Harry's heart sank as he watched Louis’ face work through a range of emotions, settling finally on apprehension. The thought of the tiny connection he’d been holding onto disappearing was more than he could bare.

Having feelings for Louis was like living in a constant state of confusion. Even today, Louis had stared at Harry for a beat too long, specifically fixated on his lips. As Louis watched him intently, his tongue swiped out to lick his lips at the same time. No doubt a subconscious action on Louis’ part, but Harry had noticed it regardless. It drove him half crazy while at the same time feeding his shaky confidence. It seemed like they were finally getting somewhere and now he feared that he might have ruined things between them before they even began.

"Harry..." Louis spoke quietly, his voice laced with regret. Was it wrong that hearing him say his name set butterflies free in his belly? Harry met his eyes as he waited impatiently for him to continue. "The thing is...I'm pretty sure our mums set this up on purpose. These happenstances between us, I mean." Louis looked at Harry as if he expected him to understand the problem with that. He didn’t.

"And?" Harry reluctantly pushed him to explain.

That earned him a small laugh from Louis, but it was followed by him rubbing the back of his neck. Harry had observed him long enough by now to recognize it as a nervous habit.

"So...doesn't it bother you? Or feel wrong that this is exactly what they wanted?" Harry quirked his eyebrow, but remained otherwise silent, in hopes that Louis would elaborate. Fortunately, he did. "Our mums have actually been trying to set us up, Harry. You realize that, don't you?” He paused to run his fingers through his hair. Another nervous habit. Breathing out a deep sigh of frustration, Louis looked at him pleadingly. It was clear that he wanted Harry to pitch in with his own opinion on this matter, but Harry didn't want to interrupt him. Louis was finally speaking and Harry wanted to hear every word he had to say.

“Like say we go along with their plan? Right? Then it's not really organic. It's like an arranged marriage or summat." Louis' eyes widened in panic, probably shocked at his own allusion to marriage. "Fuck, I'm sorry. Shit. This is coming out all wrong. Please tell me you get what I'm trying to say?" Louis looked at him searchingly, desperate for Harry to understand.

"I think so, yea. You don't want an arranged marriage.” Harry tried for cheeky, but it fell flat. Louis’ cheeks filled with color instantly which only made him regret his poor attempt at humor. “Sorry. I'm sorry, Lou. I do understand. Like...I get what you're saying. You think if you explore a relationship with someone you've been set up with, then you'll never really know if you made the decision of your own free will or because someone told you to." Harry said the words very slowly as if the meaning of them would change somehow because he took his time.

It pained him to even say the words out loud. And once he had, it felt as if his fate had been sealed. Because although he understood that's what Louis thought, Harry didn't agree with him at all. In fact, it sounded ridiculous. So ridiculous that it made him want to bang his head against a wall.

The problem with Louis’ reasoning was that Harry couldn't remember a time when he didn't want Louis. And he hadn't even realized that their mums had been hoping for it until recently. So he _had_ come to want Louis organically. Somehow he knew that this argument would fall upon deaf ears, though. And Harry really didn't fancy arguing with him. He could think of other things he'd much rather do with Louis, but apparently those things were currently off the table.

Louis hung his head and nodded slowly, confirming Harry’s assessment of the situation and simultaneously crushing his hopes. Imagining a universe where they didn't end up together hurt a lot. Harry felt as if he’d actually been punched in the gut. That's when it occurred to him that he was in far deeper than he'd previously thought. He wasn't ready to simply give up on them because in his heart he knew that the two of them could be great together. He knew this without even understanding how or why. So he made a decision. Harry wasn't usually a fighter, but Louis was someone worth fighting for.

So what if their mums had gone old school and practically tried to arrange a marriage between them? It’s not like they could've actually forced them to be attracted to one another. Attraction was organic. It had already happened, in fact. They were attracted to one another.

And it was clear that Harry hadn’t been completely alone with his feelings. Louis _had_ wanted him as well, but he’d chosen to deny himself in order to spite his mum. And while he was certainly entitled to try, feelings can't simply be switched off. At least, Harry hoped that was the case because he wasn't ready to give up yet.

The more he thought about it, the more angry he got. They were a good fit, dammit. They'd even been on the same page for a minute and Harry would like nothing more than for the two of them to get back on that same page again. Fuck it all. He’d promised himself he was gonna go for it and that’s what he was gonna do. Because although Louis was turning out to be a bigger challenge than he'd anticipated, Harry still wanted him. Very much so.

“Louis?” Harry reached over and gently touched his arm to get his full attention. Louis jerked his head upright immediately, meeting Harry’s eyes with a combination of hesitancy and curiosity. “Listen. I think you should know that your mum never suggested anything to me about the two of us. ‘M not here because she asked me to be here for you. ‘M here because she asked me to take care of the pool for the summer. She told me to use it whenever I wanted so I did. Then I got to know your sisters and I just...I enjoyed being surrounded by your family I guess. My sister, Gemma, is away this summer and it’s only ever been me and Gems so it’s a bit lonely round our place these days.” Harry paused for a minute to collect his thoughts while Louis sat perfectly still waiting for him to continue.

“Look. I know you weren’t happy about moving out here. I see how much you miss your friends. Your sadness is tangible to me sometimes. I can practically feel it rolling off of you in waves .” Harry brushed his thumb over Louis’ arm then, delighting in the goosebumps that broke out across his skin. “It doesn't have to be that way though. You don't have to be alone here. We don't have to be anything more than friends if it makes you uncomfortable. But maybe we could try being friends? If you’d let me, I'd be happy to be your friend.”

Louis blinked a few times before responding and Harry held his breath the entire time. “I...I think I would like that. Being friends,” Louis smiled at him. It wasn’t the smile which made his eyes crinkle at the corner. He wasn’t shining brighter than the sun, but he was smiling and that counted for something. Plus he’d just agreed on friendship and that was infinitely better than the alternative so Harry considered it a win. He would take anything Louis was willing to offer.

_~~~~~_

 

 

_Once again, I owe the biggest thank yous to both[Lexi ](http://idareyoutotakealook.tumblr.com/)and [Roni](http://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/) for being so generous with their time and just basically all around incredible people.  I don't know how you put up with me, but I am eternally grateful that you do!!!  I owe you both my own famous chocolate cake.  Having said that, any and all mistakes are still my own as I have a terrible habit of going back to "fix things" ._

_Thank you so much for reading. If you liked it and feel like sharing,[here is a link for the tumblr post](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147552164810/i-hate-your-stupid-yellow-shorts-au-where-louis). Feedback is always appreciated and is often what pushes me to keep writing._

_I still plan to update every 4-7 days.  Overall, I expect it to fall between 5-6 chapters and roughly 40-50k._

_Thank you again for reading.  I hope that you enjoy :D_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This goes without saying (so let me say it anyway): This is a work of pure fiction. Made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.

 

_~L~_

 

One day.  Not even a full day, technically speaking.  It was really only a matter of minutes. That’s all the time it had taken for Louis to royally fuck things up where Harry was concerned.

He’d come home from Donny with the intent of winning him over and within record time, he’d foiled his own fucking plan.  When Harry told him that their mums had met at a FFLAG meeting, his brain had checked out for a few minutes.  There was no longer any doubt that his mum had been playing cupid all along.  He allowed that knowledge to fill his mind with doubt when it never should've mattered at all.  Hindsight is truly a bitch sometimes. But the thought of trying to initiate something with a boy his mum had literally hand-picked for him made him feel foolish. Who actually does that in real life?  No one, that's who. He would’ve felt like the main character in a shitty rom com. Biding his time until the scene where everyone pointed at him and laughed.

Thinking back to the times he'd seen Anne with his mum, he felt pretty confident that she'd been involved as well.  The two of them could often be found giggling over glasses of wine with their heads bent close together.  Clearly the picture of two evil masterminds working together.  It's a wonder he didn't  work it out sooner. Had they ever even stopped to consider how awkward their plans might make things between him and Harry, he wondered?  What if they _had_ actually gotten together and hit it off?  How were they supposed to tell people the story about how they’d met when they were asked?  Were they supposed to just say ‘Our mums set us up’?  That would’ve been awful. Beyond embarrassing.

Louis’ default reaction in the heat of the moment had been to push Harry away again.  It was a completely natural reaction since that's essentially what he'd been doing since they met. He hadn't been prepared for Harry’s heartfelt speech or his peace offering of friendship afterwards, though.  Looking into his sincere eyes as he explained that he understood, Louis felt as if he had no choice.

Harry was just so _nice_.  Honestly, how on earth did anyone ever say no to him?  It was impossible. With those bright green eyes and deep dimples, no one was safe against his charms.  Clearly Louis lacked immunity as well because he found himself accepting Harry’s offer of friendship with gratitude.  

 

_~~~~~_

 

Before he could think twice about it, he was running back to the house to fetch his wallet and minutes later, he was jumping into Harry’s car.  The two of them were heading out for what Harry described as _‘a day filled with all things country’._  According to the curly-haired boy, the first step towards overcoming one's fears was to confront them head on.  Since Louis was reluctant to embrace life in the country, Harry had decided to show him what he was missing. Biting back a sardonic reply about the plan, he teased Harry for his choice of hipster music instead.  Better not to offend his new friend about his entire life on day one, he reckoned.

“Heyyyyy,” Harry protested as a dimpled smile lit up his face. The sun filtered in through the windows behind him, reflecting flecks of gold in his eyes.  His skin seemed to glow in the light. Harry was truly a vision.  He stole Louis’ breath for a brief moment before he remembered what this was.  Friendship.  They were supposed to be working towards friendship. Just friends.  It was fine. He could do that.

They stopped at a small cafe on the way to their first adventure after Harry heard Louis’ belly rumbling. It shouldn't have been embarrassing, but Louis had felt his cheeks heat up regardless. He tried convincing Harry to just pop through the McDonalds drive-thru, but he would hear nothing of it.

“You can't eat that junk, Lou! Didn't you see the documentary about what happens to their food over time?  Trust me. You'll never eat McDonald’s again.”  He looked seriously concerned for Louis’ well-being which was kind of sweet. But also not because Louis would literally kill for a burger and chips right now. He'd skipped breakfast this morning in favor of catching the early rail home and only just now realized how starved he was.  Louis considered telling him where to shove the documentary, but Harry was adorably persistent.

“I know a place that makes great grass-fed burgers and sweet potato chips,” Harry glanced over at him hopefully.  And honestly, who was Louis to argue?  

“Okay, Curly.” He replied simply.

Conversation between the two of them flowed easily from the second they sat down.  Harry with a veggie panini and side of greens and Louis with the aforementioned grass-fed burger and sweet potato chips. Louis had to admit it was much better than anything he might've ordered at the drive-thru. He couldn't even feign annoyance at Harry's smug smile because this stop had been so well intended.  Instead, they sat grinning stupidly at one another between bites as they exchanged pieces of information about themselves. By the time they arrived at his friend’s house, Louis had learned more than his fair share about the intriguing dimple-faced boy.  He’d discovered that Harry had an intense fear of spiders and learned that he loved _all_ types of music - _‘not just hipster’_.  

But the best thing Louis learned that day had come from a story he'd pried from Harry unintentionally.  

_“Tell me an interesting story about yourself Harold.”_

_“It's just Harry, actually.  And interesting how?”_

_“Dunno. Surprise me, Harold,” Louis insisted, completely disregarding Harry's comment._

_“Hmmm. Well, I could tell you about how I came to realize I liked boys.”  Louis raised his eyebrows in interest. “Right, so it all started in year ten when I tried to win a date to our school’s Christmas Disco_ _with Becky Hamilton. It was between me and the caption of our footie team at school. Liam. That was his name.” Harry explained. He looked slightly unsure of himself. Probably trying to surmise if this was what Louis had in mind when he specified ‘interesting’._

_“Okay...so what happened then?  You can't just leave me in suspense like this!  Was Becky properly wooed by your dimples and curls and did you wind up taking her to the Christmas Disco?”_

_“No.” Harry chuckled. “Well she agreed to go with me, but I panicked at the last minute and cancelled on her. It turned out I’d actually been pining for Liam the whole time.  Hit me like a brick wall when I figured it out. Think I’d been trying to distract Becky from him, unknowingly.  Anyway, Liam had already asked someone else so Becky got stuck going with Jimmy Wallace.  You'll have to trust me when I tell you that Jimmy was a downgrade.  The whole ordeal was a proper mess.  Becky still won't talk to me.  When we run into one another in town, she completely avoids me.”_

_“Scandalous!  I'm truly fascinated. Did it ever work out with Liam though? Did you end up winning him over with your dimples and curls instead?” Louis grinned at him._

_“Um, no.” Harry tripped over his words a bit. “Well I kissed him one time actually. Only once. But it was a mistake.”_

_“A mistake how?”_

_“Was like kissing my brother,” Harry shuddered.  “It was just...wrong.  But Liam and I ended up being really good friends after that so it all worked out in the end.  By the way, we’re actually headed to his place now and you have to promise not to say a word about this if we see him. It's literally ‘the kiss that we don’t speak of' .  Ever.”_

_“Got it. Do not speak of previous lip locking incident.  Although I have to admit I'm a little disappointed in your story, Curly. You didn't manage to charm either of them?  And here I thought you could win over anyone you set your sights on.” Louis teased him._

_“Well I set my eyes on you and didn't win you over either. Did I now?” Harry held his gaze steadily, without blinking. Louis stared back until Harry was forced to look at the road again to drive. Only then did he allow himself to smile down into his lap. Hopefully Harry didn't see him. He wasn’t ready to admit that he'd been dead wrong.  Louis had been gone for him since the very first day. Of course he’d been denying himself ever since, but that didn't mean he hadn't fallen for the boy._

 

_~~~~~_

 

He was flying. That was the best way to describe it. The two of them were like low-flying birds, coasting across the land, barely able to see the actual leaves on the trees as they breezed by. The world was reduced to blurs of green and brown, the colors of the land swirling together like an abstract painting.  This was brilliant.  Why had he never done this before?

The wind blew through his hair unforgivably.  When they eventually came to a stop, it would most likely resemble a bird's nest, but Louis couldn't be arsed to care.  Not when the earth was gliding by so quickly beneath his feet.  It left him with a sense of freedom he’d never felt before.  He let out a loud whoop in the thick of the woods, happy that no one could hear him.  It was only him and whatever animals happened to be nearby.  He’d finally found a place where he could be as loud as he wanted.

But his cheer echoed back to him.  And along with it came a familiar bark of laughter, effectively reminding him that he wasn't alone.   _Not anymore,_ Harry had promised him.  Regardless of the fact that he wasn’t flying solo, Louis felt no need to quiet himself down.  Somehow, he instinctively knew that Harry wouldn't mind.  He’d brought him here for this very reason, as a matter of fact. To find a love and appreciation of the country.  So itwould please Harry to see Louis happy, uninhibited and carefree.  And Louis truly felt all of those things.  Truth be told, he’d never felt more alive.

There was no other way to explain riding.  Was love at first ride a thing?  Perhaps it should be because Louis fell in love with quads instantly. The rush from it was exhilarating, the adrenaline lighting him from within.  When it was time to return the bikes to Liam’s, Louis was actually disappointed that their time was up.  He asked Harry when they could go back again as soon as they got back in the car.

Harry smiled back at him knowingly, looking quite content with himself.  Obviously, he understood the thrill of riding seeing as he’d skillfully led the way across the terrain for the better part of an hour.  While Louis had been skeptical about their day of all things country, he had to give points to Harry for blowing all his expectations within the first hour.  So much so that he was practically vibrating with anticipation as they traveled to their next destination, wondering what could possibly top this.

 

_~~~~~_

 

The pace of their day switched dramatically when they arrived at Clay Lane Farm.  Harry was determined to teach Louis the meditative ways of fishing.  To be honest, Louis was far from sold on the sport.  For starters, it didn't have a ball.  Instead, there was a worm which was an unacceptable replacement as far as he was concerned.  That alone should’ve automatically precluded fishing from ever being referred to as a sport.  When Harry had patiently shown him how to bait his line, he’d been less than enthused.  By the end of their trip, however, Louis had completely taken over that job for the both of them because Harry actually became remorseful about the worms if you can believe that.  Each and every time he baited the lines for God's sake.

"Just because they're small doesn't mean they don't have feelings, Louis," he'd insisted with his lips in a full pout.  The last thing Louis should've been thinking about was Harry’s lips so he distracted himself the best way he knew how.

"Actually Harold, worms don't have feelings. They have brains that connect to their nerves allowing them to detect light or taste, but they aren’t capable of cognitive thought processes like you or I."  Louis countered.  He was met with a look of complete disbelief.

"What?" He felt his face heating up.  "I might’ve watched something on the discovery channel one time." The second to last thing that Louis needed to think about was how endearing it was that Harry was protective over worms.  Suffice to say, it was a damn good thing this was a catch and release farm.  Because Louis couldn't even begin to imagine Harry's despair if they'd actually killed the fish.  

The two of them sat quietly on the embankment after that as they waited for the fish to bite.  In an unspoken agreement, they allowed the noises from the farm to be the backdrop to their day, forgoing actual conversation.  And perhaps the silence should’ve been awkward between them.  But it just...wasn’t.  

Inhaling deeply, he breathed in the country air, clear from the exhaust fumes at Uni.  The difference was noticeable and he couldn’t deny it being a pleasant change.  Tipping his head back once more, Louis allowed the rays from the sun to warm his face.  Even if fishing wasn't his favorite, he could appreciate the fact that they'd been blessed with such a beautiful day.   Before long, he felt the weight of someone's eyes resting upon him.  When he cracked his own eyes open to investigate, Louis wasn't surprised to find Harry's gaze fixed upon him.  He wasn’t disappointed either, to be completely honest.

Harry immediately averted his gaze, but not before Louis observed his cheeks coloring to a lovely shade of pink.  It seemed that keeping their relationship limited to friendship might be proving a bit difficult for both of them then.   _Good._ Because after deliberating back and forth internally since earlier that day, Louis had come to the conclusion that this really wasn’t a terrible problem.  After all, their feelings for one another had been mutual.  They’d pretty much discussed it.  Then they’d decided to try friendship and so far the day had been exactly that - friendly.  

From this point moving forward, though, Louis reckoned he should let whatever was meant to happen occur without overthinking things.  He needed to stop worrying about his mum's involvement in the forming of their ‘friendship’.  Because it seemed that he was destined to find himself endeared towards Harry regardless. This day was about Louis learning _“all things country”_ and maybe, just maybe, that included a certain curly-haired country boy.  So he made the decision to simply relax and enjoy the remainder of their day.  Tilting his head back once more, he let his eyes drift closed as he waited for things that may or may not come.

 

_~~~~~_

 

Worm dilemma aside, fishing turned out to be pretty enjoyable overall.  Truth be told, it was a bit boring, but Louis enjoyed spending the quiet time with Harry regardless.  It was a stark contrast to the loud, fast pace of riding and yet, he found himself entertained by both adventures, just in different ways.  

Back in Donny there hadn't been a place like this where one could go to clear their head.  He reckoned he'd done most of his thinking on the footie pitch instead where he'd constantly been moving.  There was something to be said for stopping to stand still for a while.  The peaceful sound of the crickets surrounding them was a welcome change, surprisingly enough.  Louis wasn't at all accustomed to the quiet.  More often than not, he was the one responsible for creating noise in the first place. So he was even more shocked that the peaceful calm which had settled between them hadn't been awkward at all.

From the farm, they made their way to a farmer’s market in Harry's hometown Holmes Chapel because according to him, it had the best produce in all of Cheshire.  Harry was intent on cooking dinner for the them tonight and Louis couldn't think of a single reason to argue.  His idea of cooking was limited to mostly pot noodles and cheese toasties so anything Harry made was pretty much guaranteed to be tastier than that.  Might as well give it a chance seeing how the rest of their day had panned out so far.  Based upon Harry’s enthusiasm for fresh produce, Louis suspected that he was in for a treat.  So he tagged along happily as Harry made conversation at various market stands with their owners.

Watching him interact with the locals at the market was entertaining to say the least.  Harry's cheeks had been pinched multiple times and he'd been hugged by several old women (and men as well).  Multiple bunches of herbs peeked out from the canvas bag he'd pulled from the boot.  He'd gotten them all for free at the insistence of one persistent stand owner.  Harry exuded buckets of charm wherever he went and everyone surrounding him seemed helpless to it, captivated by his warmth and kindness.  Louis was convinced by the end of their trip that there was not a single person in the entire countryside who disliked Harry Styles.  With the exception of Becky Hamilton, it seemed basically impossible.

 

_~H~_

 

The day had gone unbelievingly well so far.  Much better than he’d ever dared to hope for.  Harry had felt completely relaxed and at ease the whole time which was crazy considering that they’d hardly spoken prior to today.  It seemed as if he and Louis had been friends forever, though, rather than just a few short hours.  The sheer joy that lit up Louis’ face as they rode through the woods had fueled Harry for the rest of the day.  They’d cruised over land which he knew like the back of his hand and when Louis’ delighted yelps filled the air, Harry hadn’t been able to stop himself from joining in his happy cheer.  Seeing his clear enjoyment for something that Harry truly loved made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.  

In hindsight, everything that Harry had planned for the day had been inherently risky.  There had been no guarantee that Louis would enjoy the same things as him.  This was all brand new to Louis, after all.  Because although Doncaster was technically only two hours away, it was practically a universe apart when compared to Cheshire. The differences between them were immense. And yet, despite all this, a small voice in Harry's mind had assured him that everything would turn out fine.  

Harry had taken a chance by listening to that voice and would always be grateful because they had truly had an amazing time together.  Louis seemed content the entire time, even during the peaceful time they'd spent at the farm.  And that had been a relief because Harry knew fishing wasn't for everyone.  But instead of fighting it, like Harry worried he might, Louis let down his usual guards and allowed himself to actually relax.  When he leaned back with his head tilted towards the sun, Harry momentarily got lost in him again.  In the curve of his neck and the sharpness of his cheekbones. Louis was so beautiful. Harry couldn't help but to admire him.  Of course, he still hoped that someday they could be more than friends, but he would take this day and the opportunity of friendship with him over nothing in a heartbeat. He insisted on cooking dinner for them as well because he wasn't ready for their time together to end quite yet.  When Louis quickly agreed without arguing,  Harry wondered if perhaps he wasn't ready for their day to be over yet either.

 

_~~~~~_

 

A few hours later, Harry unloaded his bag of food as Louis sat on the counter swinging his feet back and forth gleefully.  He was an actual child and Harry was hopelessly endeared. “Are you gonna make mash with them?” Louis asked him casually, pointing towards the potatoes they’d brought back.

"Well I thought I’d make jacket potatoes because I'm making the trout we picked up at the market.  Jacket potatoes pair better with fish," he replied with hardly a second thought.  Harry loved to cook and was quite particular about his pairings.  It might've been because he spent an insane amount of time watching the Good Food Channel, but Harry refused to apologize for that. He wrote it off as research, shrugging off his flatmates whenever they rolled their eyes at him. Needless to say, he knew what he was talking about when It came to pairings and mashed potatoes were better suited to a Sunday roast or sausages. Honestly though, one didn't even need to watch the Good Food Channel to know this.  It was just basic common sense.

But Louis stuck out his bottom lip in a disappointed pout and if that wasn't the most ridiculous puppy dog face Harry had ever seen then he didn't know what was.  It was truly pathetic. _Truly_.  And he didn't seem to be dropping the act anytime soon so Harry relented with an exaggerated eye roll, "Alright. Fine.  We can have mashed potatoes, you arse.  Where does your mum keep [ the masher ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos)?"

Louis' sad face morphed into a smile that was almost instantly replaced with a mask of confusion. "How on earth would I know where she keeps the masher, Harold?  I _eat_ the potatoes. I don't actually mash them," he rolled his own eyes in response.

“You’re ridiculous,”  Harry replied as he started opening drawers in search of the tool.  “And you’re totally learning how to mash potatoes tonight so grab a peeler,” he leveled Louis with a stare, “and don’t even try telling me that you don’t know what a peeler is!”

Louis stared at Harry for a few seconds before realizing he was dead serious.  With a heavy sigh, he jumped down from the counter and began searching the drawers for the vegetable peeler.   When he found it, Harry set him up with a small bag of apples he'd purchased with instructions to peel them all. He needed them for the apple crumble he was baking for dessert.  For as much as Louis huffed and puffed at being put to work, he'd done a great job at his first task.

When Harry praised him for doing a good job, Louis actually glowed a bit, pleased as punch at having done so well at his assigned task.  It was a good thing Louis was in good spirits because Harry took the peeled apples from him and immediately replaced them with the potatoes, asking him to work his same magic on them.

 

_~L~_

 

Harry wasn't kidding when he said he planned on putting him to work.  Louis never wanted to peel anything again.  Unless peeling off Harry's clothes counted, but that really isn't the same, is it?  Dammit, he shouldn't be thinking about bedroom activities, but something about this domestic scenario had him feeling a certain kinda way.  

Perhaps the exhaustion from being worked so hard in the kitchen was having an effect on his brain.  This cooking business was harder than it looked.  Although he probably shouldn't complain since in the time it had taken for Louis to peel the apples and potatoes, Harry had mixed up a crumb topping, prepped a lemon dill sauce, washed and prepared the green beans and chopped up the apples.  He was just now gathering everything together to start actually cooking. The way he effortlessly pulled everything together only increased Louis' admiration for this boy even further.

For the last part of the food prep, Louis resumed his previous spot on the countertop, spending most of this time chatting up Harry while he flawlessly flipped between multiple pots and pans in what seemed like a well rehearsed dance.  He did uncork one of the bottles of wine they'd picked up at the market and poured them each a glass so he felt at least somewhat useful.  

It was a Sauvignon Blanc which Harry proclaimed an excellent pairing for the trout.  Whatever that meant.  Louis nodded along politely while Harry explained at length, but to be perfectly honest, he'd been far more interested in watching Harry's lips move as he spoke.  Picking a good wine pairing was apparently important so he had caught the main gist of what Harry had been saying.  And he should've probably felt a little guilty for not paying better attention, but his lips were just so plush and pink that it was hard to focus on the words he was saying.  Luckily Harry didn't notice since he was preoccupied with preparing their dinner.  Because as of right now, they were just friends and staring at your friend’s lips for extended periods of time probably qualified as a bit creepy.

Everything was perfectly fine until the time came to mash the potatoes. Without providing him instructions, Harry handed over the milk, butter, the masher and the drained potatoes.  Then he turned back towards the stove to tend to the other dishes.  Which would've been completely fine if Louis had the slightest clue what to do with the funny looking tool.  He stared at it for a few seconds before finally speaking up. "Um...Curly?"

Harry turned back to him from the stove with a quirked brow, "Yeah?"

"How do you mash?"  He asked.  Confused, but otherwise determined, he stuck the masher in the pot and tried to stir the potatoes with it. They barely budged.

Harry giggled slightly before coming up behind Louis. His breath was hot against Louis’ neck and his voice a deep rumble beside his ear that made him shiver.  "Not like that Lou.  Here...," he reached his arm around Louis’ waist and gripped his hand on top of Louis' hand holding the masher.  Harry pushed down with his hand gripping Louis' securely to demonstrate the proper technique.  "Like this."  Harry pushed their hands down together a few more times and Louis literally stopped breathing.  

Thankfully, Harry didn’t notice because he needed to tend to the rest of the food so he moved back to the stove fairly quickly.  The moment the warmth of Harry’s body was gone, Louis took in a deep, shuddering breath as _‘I can still feel him’_ echoed in his mind.  The place where their skin had been connected was still tingling.   _Friends shouldn’t make your skin tingle,_ Louis was almost one hundred percent certain of this fact.

Somehow, Louis managed to finish the mashed potatoes despite the fact that he felt like he'd been electrocuted. He tasted a small bite to confirm that they were okay before handing them off to Harry and for a first timer, Louis felt they weren’t half bad.  Shortly after, they both settled to the table with their glasses of wine.  Harry had plated both of their dishes with Louis’ mash, the trout with lemon dill sauce and some fresh sauteed green beans.  Everything looked incredible and if the way it smelled was any indication, it was going to taste even better.

Harry raised his glass in position to give a toast so Louis raised his as well.  He watched him silently, patiently waiting to hear his words of wisdom. "Here's to a great day. I think there’s hope for you yet, Louis.  You're gonna make a fine country boy. I can already tell.”

Louis rolled his eyes fondly and had his glass halfway towards his mouth when Harry started speaking again.  Apparently, he wasn’t through with his toast quite yet.  “Also, I just wanted to say that this was the best first date I’ve ever been on.”  Harry aimed his widest grin straight at Louis.  His dimples lit up his cheeks and his eyes twinkled at him in a happy challenge.

The wine glass was instantly forgotten as Louis stared at Harry in disbelief for a few seconds.   _Surely I would’ve known if this had been a date,_ he stubbornly rejected Harry’s assessment of their day.  The conflict of whether or not they should consider dating reignited in his head without his permission and he could feel his pulse picking up speed. Louis thought he'd worked through this earlier when he'd decided to let things take their course, but he felt anxious again for some reason. Harry, on the other hand, seemed perfectly sure. The smile never dropped from his face. Not even when Louis finally found his voice.  “Harry, today wasn’t a date.  You know that, right?  We talked about this earlier.  Remember?  Friends?  That's what we said. It was even your idea….”   

_We could date one another_ , Louis’ rational side fought back _._  Harry seemed oblivious to the inner turmoil playing in Louis' mind.  Still smiling, he lifted his wine glass to his lips and took a sip so Louis kept speaking.  “But seriously, think about it. If we actually dated one another...wouldn't it be like?  Like me mum and your mum too, I guess...I dunno...it’d be like they won or summat?”  Louis blinked earnestly at Harry waiting for him to tell him it was fine or something, but Harry simply took another sip of his wine before setting his glass down.  The smile still never left his face.

“‘M pretty sure it was a date, Lou.  Don’t really care about our mums right now if I’m honest.”  He shrugged nonchalantly.  “Anyway, food looks great, even if jacket potatoes would’ve been a better fit.  Dig in.”

Was he for real?  It seemed that he was.  What a smug bastard!   Harry lifted a bite of the trout to his mouth, but stuck his tongue out first before taking a bite and Louis was stunned silent for the second time in a matter of minutes.  Helpless only to stare at Harry while contemplating what he’d said.  He couldn’t just proclaim today as a date, could he?  Even if Louis _had_ started to warm up to the idea of possibly dating Harry, that didn’t mean that Harry could just claim today as a date.  And he looked so pleased with himself, too!  Continuing on as if he hadn’t just made an important decision about them without consulting Louis first?  And anyway, who the hell ate like that?  Why was he sticking his tongue out first?  Was he trying to torture him?  Is that what this was?  Because it looked a bit sexual and Louis was trying desperately to control himself, dammit.  Harry needed to stop that immediately!

Harry put his fork down and brought his wine glass to his mouth again and Louis one hundred percent hated himself because he was staring at Harry’s lips.  He was pretty sure Harry knew exactly the effect he was having on him as well because he took a sip of wine and then proceeded to lick a drop of it from his lips.  And Louis...was still staring.   _Fuck_.  “Lou, I'm kidding, your potatoes are great.  Come on.  Eat.  You don’t wanna let your food get cold.”

Alright, so Harry was right about one thing. He didn't want his food to get cold because it smelled bloody fantastic.  When he brought the first taste to his mouth, he couldn't stop the appreciative moan that escaped from the back of his throat.  The fish melted in his mouth like butter and the flavors on his tongue exploded... _ohmygod_.  Harry was some kind of culinary genius or summat.

As he took another bite, he resolved to get Harry back for making presumptions about them without his permission.  Back in the day, Louis did this one annoying little thing at the table which his mum and sisters hated more than anything.  Surely Harry would despise it as well.  On his third bite he deliberately chewed with his mouth gaped wide open, even letting some of the food dribble back out of his mouth onto his plate.  With his mouth still half full, he raved to Harry, "Oh mu gud, Harreh. Es so good!"

Louis fully expected Harry to be offended and possibly even a bit repulsed to be honest.  Imagine his surprise when Harry simply threw his head back and burst into loud hyena-like laughter.   _What the hell?_  Louis knew he was funny most of the time, but this was absolutely not one of those times.  He was trying to retaliate, dammit.  Clearly He failed because Harry's body continued to shake with laughter until it finally subsided to small giggles.

Louis watched silently while Harry pulled himself together, the entire time thinking _what now?_  Throughout the rest of the delicious meal, Louis drank more than his fair share of the crisp wine to calm his frayed nerves.  He also kept his mouth politely closed because what was the point if Harry was just gonna laugh at him?   When he finally swallowed his last bite, he put his fork down and fixed Harry with the most intense stare he could manage. "This wasn't a date," he stated simply.  Might as well get straight to the point.

Harry met his stare and continued to chew his own food, very slowly, as if Louis wasn't staring at him in wait of his response.  It wasn’t until after Harry swallowed and washed it down with another sip of wine that he finally answered him with a bright smile. "It was."

 

_~H~_

 

"Okay, but seriously _how_ do you do it?  Are you even real?  I don’t understand.  This is the best apple crumble I’ve ever eaten.  I might have to marry you, Harry.  I'd marry you, Harry, because it rhymes.”  Louis started giggling, but it quickly turned into hiccups instead.  Clearly, he was a happy drunk.  They'd finished three bottles of wine with their dinner so they were both more than a little tipsy.  “Ha! I’m a poet!  Anyway, that’s a lie.  I’m obviously marrying you for your mad culinary skills!”

“How can you marry me when you won’t even let me take you on a date?” Harry responded with a cheeky exaggerated wink.

Dancing past his question completely, Louis continued giggling around forkfuls of the apple crumble, stopping only to moan after each bite.  “So good, Curly.  You can bake for me anytime you want.”

“Honestly, if you like this, you should really taste my chocolate cake. That's my specialty,"  Harry smiled proudly.  And why shouldn’t he?  He was a good baker, dammit!  Furthermore, Louis seemed to agree, so.

Those words made Louis drop his fork and it fell to his bowl with a clatter. "Chocolate cake?  Now _this_ I have to taste. Did you know that's my favorite?"

Harry shook his head back and forth as he unabashedly stared at Louis.  He was so beautiful with his cheeks tinted pink from the wine and his slightly glassy eyes appearing an even brighter shade of blue.  Harry was more than a little overwhelmed by him.  He could honestly sit at this table and watch Louis for hours.  Somehow, he managed to be the most intriguing as well as the most confusing person he’d ever met and Harry was enthralled with each and every layer of him. If he could have one wish, he'd wish for this day to never end.  With all the time in the world on his side, surely he could convince Louis to change his mind.

Harry had it really bad.  A proper mess over this boy, he was.

“How come you know all this, Harreh?” Louis fixed him with a stare that was probably intended to be serious, but fell short due to all the wine they’d consumed.  Raising an eyebrow in Harry’s direction, he pointed at him accusingly, “Are you some kinda kitchen wizard or summat?  I command you to reveal your magical culinary powers!"

Loud barks of laughter escaped him again. "No,” he choked out as he his body continued shaking.  

“Lies!  Tell me the truth!  Yer a wizard Harreh.” Louis gave a terrible impression of Hagrid.

“I'm not. But I've been working at a bakery in Manchester for a few years now.  Learned my way around a bag of sugar and that was pretty much it, I guess.  Oh and I also watch the Good Food Channel a bit more than the average person.  Cuz I wanna maybe open my own cafe someday."

“Huh.  Your own cafe?” Louis asked and Harry just smiled and nodded.  “Then you probably should let me taste that special chocolate cake of yours.  Wouldn’t want you marketing it as a house specialty if it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, ya know?  What if it's complete rubbish and you're only setting yourself up for failure?  Can’t have that now, can we?”

“Well I’m working tomorrow.  If you really fancy a taste, you could drop by?  I'd let you try a small sample.”  Harry smiled innocently while trying not to look too hopeful.  

In his own head, he was laughing hysterically at himself. Because small sample?  What fucking a joke!   Harry didn’t know who the hell he was kidding.  He’d let Louis sit naked at the bakery counter eating the entire cake with a fork if he wanted.  If it meant that he might earn Louis’ praise again, then Harry would happily oblige any request.  In fact, if it was up to him, Louis could eat the entire contents of the bakery.  Provided that he moaned seductively after every bite as he’d been doing all evening thus far.  It was a special kind of hell watching and listening to Louis eat the food he’d prepared and Harry welcomed this hell with open arms.

"Hmmm.  Well, maybe I will," Louis smiled at him with some of the crumble deliberately stuck to his two front teeth.

 

_~L~_

 

Louis still felt a little bit buzzed, but he was far less fuzzy than he’d been at dinner.  The food must’ve soaked up some of the wine.  Lord knows he’d eaten enough of it, but he couldn't help himself. It was one of the best meals he’d ever had.  In contrast to his expertise in the kitchen, he was far from brilliant at basic tasks such as straightening out a blanket. "You know I've seen stars before, right Curly?" he huffed as he helped Harry spread the blanket out in the garden.

"'S not the same in the country, Lou. Trust me.  It’ll be worth it." Harry finished getting the blanket situated to his liking and then pulled out his phone to put some music.  Then he patted the spot beside him, a clear message to Louis to come sit beside him.  And really, who was Louis to argue?  Like he said before, buckets of charm, that one.  

It wasn’t completely dark out yet since the sun set much later in the month of July, but it was close.  Louis recognized the hypnotizing guitar riffs of Pink Floyd immediately.  He looked over at Harry, "Dark Side of the Moon?" he asked simply.

"'S good star gazing music, trust me," Harry simply replied.  

“You know you say ‘trust me’ a lot.  My grandmother once told me never to trust a boy who told me to trust him,” Louis raised his eyebrow at Harry in a challenge as he settled himself beside him.

“Your grandma knows?” Harry asked him innocently.  And _oh_.  Louis felt much more sober all of the sudden.  He knew exactly what Harry was asking because somehow, despite knowing that they each were attracted to boys, they’d skipped right over the specifics of their sexuality.  Harry had alluded a little towards his own preferences through the story about Becky and Liam, but Louis hadn’t offered anything back about himself.  Actually, Harry didn't know that much about him at all come to think of it.  Throughout their day together, he'd learned a lot about the curly-haired boy, but when it came to sharing things about himself?  Louis had a tendency to keep things close to the chest, revealing only as much as necessary.  It was probably time for him to set the record straight.

“Yeah.” Louis looked over, searching out Harry's eyes and found them already focused on him.  “Yeah.  My whole family has known for a while now.  When I was seventeen I told me mum that I was never gonna have a girlfriend, but that one day I hoped to have a nice boyfriend.  Told the rest of me family and friends shortly after.  Waited a bit longer to tell the girls only because they were so little, but at this point everyone that matters knows. Honestly, even people who don’t know usually suspect as much.”  He expected Harry to have a smart reply to that statement, but he remained quiet, waiting patiently for Louis to continue.  “Me mum even told me she’d always known, she’d just been waiting for me to tell her meself.”

Harry started laughing at that, but it was a quiet laugh this time.  Nothing like his guffaws at dinner.  When Louis cocked his head curiously, he stopped to explain, “Sorry. It's not your story I promise.”  Harry held his hand up like he was taking an oath and Louis nodded for him to continue.  “It's just funny because my mum knew before I told her as well.  When I was fifteen, I forgot to erase the history on the computer one day and she stumbled onto one of my porn sites unknowingly.  Needless to say, when I confessed to liking boys shortly after, she was fully prepared.   _Fully._ I'm talking condoms, lube and anal sex brochures. _Everything._ Even gave me a one year membership to PornHub and told me not to jam up the home computer with porn viruses anymore.  She still hasn’t let me live it down actually.”

“Oh My God.  That’s fucking hilarious,” Louis broke into laughter.  And it wasn’t respectfully quiet like Harry’s, though.  No.  His whole body shook from it.  Within seconds, Harry joined him and they were both in tears as they laughed about the sheer embarrassment of the situation.  Honestly, how could anyone do anything but laugh?  Harry’s mum had found gay porn on their home computer.  It was both classic and tragic.

After calming down, they only talked a little bit more about their coming out experiences.  As it turned out, they both received a tremendous amount of support and only lost a handful of ‘friends’ in the process.  They were lucky.  “You hear stories, ya know?…I was a little worried telling some of the lads to be honest,” Louis admitted.  “Homophobia is still very much alive and well in Donny.” He shivered a little.  

Harry sat up straight and looked at Louis very seriously, “Did anyone try to hurt you?”  He looked so concerned that Louis’ heart skipped a beat.  How had he been fortunate enough to meet Harry?  Actually, it was down to their mums which was ironically the reason he'd held himself back initially.

The lines Louis originally set for himself were quite blurry now, because the more he got to know Harry, the more he convinced himself that a relationship might be worth a try.  He’d already seen that two of them could be good together.  Their connection was strong despite spending only a limited amount of time together and Louis was beginning to think that it was time to let go of any lingering reservations.

“Nah.  No worries, Curly.  I got a few rude comments here and there, but that was to be expected, yea?  Some of the lads back home were probably less than thrilled about it, but most of them had my back and still do today.  Those are the ones I kept around.”

Harry nodded his head in understanding and allowed his body to relax back again, seemingly appeased with Louis’ response.  Meanwhile, as the sky continued to grow darker, talk switched over to the topic of Uni.  It turned out that when Louis began working on his post-graduate degree at Manchester Law School this fall, Harry would be a twenty minute walk away at Manchester Business School.  And that was...convenient. Louis tucked away that information for later.

He listened as Harry shared more with him about his future dream cafe.  He spoke so concisely about it.  Almost as if he were seeing into the future somehow.   He planned to offer tea and coffee, a wide range of his baked goods, and fresh sandwiches and salads.  “I want it to be a warm place.  A place that feels a bit like home.  Where people can come in, order a cuppa and sit back in a corner.  Do their thing. Get lost in whatever book they’re reading.  It will have wide planked hardwood floors and built in bookshelves in the corner filled with books and trinkets and pictures.” Harry continued to detail his dream cafe.  

By the time he finished, Louis could picture it clear as day.  Harry would do brilliantly owning his own cafe and when he told him so much, Harry’s face lit up with a big smile that touched his eyes.  “Alright, Lou.  It’s time.  Lay back,” Harry instructed.

Louis did as Harry asked and immediately gasped at the sight above him.  He had never before seen so many stars. Certainly not with such clarity.  It was absolutely breathtaking and he could do nothing but stare up at the sky in stunned silence as he appreciated what could be best described as nature’s glitter.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”  Harry asked quietly beside him.

“Where did they all come from?”

“They’re always there, Lou.  ‘S just you can’t see them as well in Manchester because of the light pollution.”  Harry’s quiet and deep voice was like a warm blanket.

And Louis knew that.  Of course he did.  He was just overwhelmed with how many he was actually able to see.  Far too many to count.  And they were just _so_ bright.  And beautiful.  He lay there quietly beside Harry listening to the soft sounds of Pink Floyd playing in the background and thought to himself that he was happy.  There was literally no place he’d rather be than right here, right now, laying beside Harry as they stared up at the wonders of the sky.

Louis sensed the blanket moving as Harry scooted his body just a little bit closer to him and held his breath for a moment when he felt Harry gently curl his pinky finger around his own.  He lay perfectly still as he timed his own breathing to Harry’s, not daring to move or say anything.  He didn’t want to say or do anything that would risk disturbing this perfect moment.

Harry’s voice was the one to finally break the silence.  “Do you ever look at the stars and wonder if somewhere really far away from here, there are people looking at Earth from their planet?  Well maybe not people because who knows what aliens really look like, but you know what I mean, right?  Like earth could be a part of the galaxy that they’re sitting and staring at just like we’re staring at theirs right now?  It's just.....people tell so many stories about the stars we’re looking at.  Sometimes I wonder what stories aliens might tell about us if the tables were turned and our sun was just a speck of light to them.”

Harry’s voice was so slow, deep and methodic that Louis felt as if he could listen to him speak for hours.  Or perhaps the soothing tone would lull him into a peaceful sleep.  He’d close his eyes right now if he wasn’t completely intrigued by what Harry might say next.   Who even was this curly haired boy and what on earth was he doing to him?   They’d only spent one day together and that’s all it had taken for Harry to climb into Louis’ heart and carve out a spot for himself.  It was almost impossible to believe, but it was becoming glaringly obvious that that’s what this was. Any previous reservations seemed to be melting away leaving him with only one question. _Why not?_

Starting with the yellow shorts, Louis had been drawn to the pretty pool boy with the curls and the dimples.  Today sent him spiraling to the next level though.  Harry had proven himself a fun outdoor enthusiast and was without fail the most amazing chef that Louis had ever known.  Better than his own mum and that was saying quite a lot.   Harry had shown so many sides of himself that Louis’ head was spinning in a quest to make sense of it all.  

Harry was confident, but reluctant.  He was loud, but also quiet and introspective.  He knew when to pull back as well as when to push Louis.  He was thoughtful and kind as well as smart and sexy.  Louis was beginning to realize that pushing Harry away would serve as more of a punishment to himself than anyone else.  And what was the point if he was only hurting himself?  Louis felt so at peace with Harry laying beside him, their fingers curled around one another .  He wondered how he'd ever thought he could be strong enough to resist him in the first place.  How could anyone?

“It’s possible,” Louis barely whispered back.  “Anything’s possible, Curly.”  He could hear both of them breathing in and out at the same time.

“Louis?” Harry whispered.

Louis turned his head to the side to look at him.  Harry licked his lips quickly before inhaling deeply. “I’m gonna kiss you now,” he breathed out before leaning over to press his lips softly against Louis’.  And it may sound cliche, hell, it _was_ cliche, but it felt like Louis’ first kiss ever.  It was, without a doubt, the one that mattered the most so far.

Harry’s lips were as pillowy soft as they looked and he tasted faintly of wine and apples.  The gentle pressure was as sweet as the boy, but before long, the kiss grew in intensity and with it, the pressure as well.  It only made Louis want more. More kisses and more of Harry. They only pulled apart when they needed to catch their breath.  With their foreheads resting against one another, Louis heard Harry when he barely whispered, “You’re so beautiful.”

Louis titled his head back to look into Harry’s eyes and they sparkled back at him, reflecting the light of the stars.  To Louis, though, it felt like they were filled with more than stardust.  Reaching his arm up, he finally did what he'd wanted to all along. He combed his fingers through Harry’s curls and pulled him back towards his lips again.  Gently, he bit at Harry’s plush lower one before licking across to soothe it while at the same time asking for access.  Harry opened for him beautifully and their tongues tangled together in a slow dance.  Louis could taste even more of the wine and apples along with a hint of sugar.  His boy was very sweet.

It could’ve gone further.  They both knew that this could and would go further, but for some reason through an unspoken agreement, they kept things innocent tonight.  Louis had never kissed anyone that way before.  It had always been just a means to an end, but this time things felt different.  It felt special.  

He had no idea how long they remained wrapped up like that together, a beautiful twisted mess of hands and lips.  All he knew was that when they finally laid back down with their backs pressed flat to the blanket, his lips felt raw in the very best of ways.  The music had stopped playing so they tilted their heads against each other and listened to the quiet night air surrounding them. The noise inside Louis’ head had finally stopped and his heart felt much lighter.

For a while they lay there, simply breathing in and out until Harry eventually broke the silence.  “This was a date.”  

Louis could hear the smile in Harry's voice and could feel his own eyes crinkling in response.  Harry’s happy confidence made him feel warm inside and even though Louis knew by now that he was right, he refused to acknowledge it.  Not when he also knew how much more fun it would be to make Harry squirm. “Was not,” he replied with a hint of laughter in his tone.

Harry squeezed his fingers a little in playful retaliation, “It was.”  Those were the last words Louis heard before he drifted off to sleep on a blanket under the stars, holding the hand of a very pretty boy that he’d finally let inside.

 

_~~~~~_

 

_Once again, huge chocolate cake thank yous to both[Lexi ](http://idareyoutotakealook.tumblr.com/)and [Roni](http://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/) ~~the most amazing support I could have hoped for.  You are the absolute best and I am eternally grateful!!!  Having said that, any and all mistakes are my own as I have a terrible habit of going back to edit more times than anyone should._

_Thank you so much for reading. If you liked it and feel like sharing,[here is a link for the tumblr post](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147552164810/i-hate-your-stupid-yellow-shorts-au-where-louis). Feedback is always appreciated.  _

_Chapter 4 should be coming Friday (but I'll say Sunday at the latest to be safe).  Overall, I expect it to be 6 chapters and roughly 40-50k._

_Thank you again for reading.  I hope that you enjoy :D_

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This goes without saying (so let me say it anyway): This is a work of pure fiction. Made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.

_ ~H~ _

 

Last night was perfection personified.  Harry honestly couldn’t have imagined it better if he tried, and believe him - he  _ had _ tried.  He’d been wondering what Louis’ lips would feel like pressed against his from the moment he’d first set eyes on him.  Countless times, he’d envisioned mapping out Louis’ entire body with both his tongue and fingers.  He’d pictured what Louis would look like if he took him apart slowly, transforming him from a beautiful boy who rarely gave him the time, to a beautiful boy begging for him instead.  It hadn’t happened that way at all.  There had been no fast or furious.

Instead, they’d spent an amazing day together with more fun and laughter than he'd dare to hope for.  Louis had finally opened up to Harry, allowing him to learn more about who he really was. It was clear that Louis was someone with many layers and Harry wanted nothing more than to peel them all back one by one.  Of course he’d seen a few of them already. 

For starters, he’d learned that Louis was loyal to the core, the kind of person you'd want on your side during a fight.  He always put his family first and he’d maintained contact with all of his friends from Doncaster.  Well, at least the ones that had been worth retaining.  

And that was another thing...Louis was brave.  He’d come out to his family and then his friends with no apologies. Even though he'd known full well that the backlash from his confession could have been terrible.  Louis didn’t have to say the words for Harry to hear him.  It was clear he’d been concerned for his safety, yet still made the choice to share who he really was with the people most important to him. Harry knew from personal experience what a difficult decision that was and how much bravery was involved in saying those words out loud.

Bravery and loyalty were two incredible qualities to possess so it's no wonder his mind had been racing with what if scenarios. Vivid imagination had nothing on the moment their lips finally touched. Harry wanted nothing more than to lay there on that blanket kissing Louis for the rest of time.  He was consumed with overwhelming feelings, unable to think of anything else. Fireworks exploded behind his eyelids, brighter than sun breaking through the horizon.  All of his senses were awakened and on full alert, his mind a constant litany of more _more more_ _Louis._  He was one hundred percent checked into his new reality.  The feeling of Louis' smaller hands carding through his hair and gently tugging elicited sounds from him that he should've been ashamed of.  But he couldn't be arsed to worry about that when Louis’ fingertips were busy sending sparks from the top of his head all the way down his spine.  The kiss could be felt in his toes.  

Although they’d kissed until the point his lips turned raw, they had actually kept things fairly innocent and very sweet.  When they pressed their foreheads together, Harry savored the feeling of Louis’ hot breath mixing in with his own.  And yet, as much as he’d loved it, Harry's heart felt as if it would hammer straight out of his chest if their lips didn’t connect again immediately. They’d really only broken apart for a few brief moments in order to catch their breath. And even then, they’d alternated pressing small kisses along one another’s jawlines. He’d smiled into Louis’ neck when he heard small moans escaping his lips. They served to reassure him that Louis was enjoying it every bit as much as he was.

They’d fallen asleep on that blanket with their fingers laced together and Harry didn't regret a single second. It didn't matter how much his back was protesting now because it had been so worth it.  Louis had drifted off first and Harry hadn’t had the heart to wake him.  Couldn't stand the thought of telling him to move inside and away from him.  So instead he'd laid there for a while listening to Louis’ even breaths as they puffed out quietly into the night air.  Eventually, he started mumbling in his sleep a little. Tiny nonsensical things that made Harry giggle out loud.  He covered his mouth with his free hand to muffle the sound.  At that point, Harry couldn’t have moved even if he tried.  It was far too endearing so instead he’d laid there listening to Louis’ loose lipped words until he drifted off as well.

Any back pain he was suffering now was nothing a little Nurofen couldn’t solve.  He woke up a few minutes prior to Louis, when it wasn’t quite light outside and yet wasn’t quite dark either.  The earth felt silvery and the air felt cool and moist.  Sometime during the night, their bodies had intertwined and they lay on the blanket now in a lover’s embrace.  He could feel Louis’ even breaths fanning against the back of his neck, the weight of his arm draped across his chest and their legs slotted between each other.  

Harry absolutely loathed the fact that he had to break away from Louis’ warmth, but he had an early shift at the bakery that day.  If he wanted to make it on time, he really needed to get a move on.  As gently as possible he trailed one of his fingers along Louis' arm that lay over his chest. That didn't work, unfortunately, so he did it once more. This time with a bit more pressure before lifting Louis' hand to his mouth and pressing his lips to it with a soft kiss. 

That seemed to do the trick because he felt Louis' breathing pattern change against his neck. Then he was greeted in a sleep raspy tone, "Ugh.  Don't tell me you're a morning person, Curly."

Louis' words made him smile.  Something about Louis calling him  _ 'Curly' _ made him feel warm inside. It sounded almost like a term of endearment and Harry loved it.  He wanted that quite a lot, actually. "Sorry Lou. I have an early shift at the bakery today. Have to get going if I'm gonna make it in time."

Louis slowly lifted his arm off of him and untangled their legs to allow Harry the freedom to move. He immediately flipped over to his other side so that he could look at Louis properly.  And  _ wow _ . Louis was a sight to behold, even first thing in the morning after spending the night sleeping outdoors.  His hair was sticking up in at least five directions, his eyes only partially open, and he lay there blinking slowly at Harry, not quite awake yet.  The fact that he was curled up on his side with his hands underneath his head like a small child only made him appear more vulnerable and soft.  God, he was so lovely and Harry was so gone for him.  He wanted to wrap Louis up in his arms and fall back asleep as their breath mingled together, but he was really pushing the clock now. 

For a brief moment he wondered what he should say.  Were there words to properly convey how he felt?  How last night had been the best night of his life so far? That he'd like to initiate an instant replay of it, tonight, and every night thereafter if possible?  Probably too much, he reckoned. 

"What time do you need to be there?" Louis saved him from speaking. 

"Seven," Harry replied with a frown. "I’m on til one today.  Hey, your mum comes in sometimes to buy treats for the girls.  She could tell you how to get there if you still wanted to drop by?  You know - to try that cake I told you about?  Only if you wanted to of course."

"Maybe," Louis dragged the word out while smiling sleepily at him. His eyes crinkled at the corners and Harry thought he'd like nothing more than for Louis to smile at him like that every day for the rest of his life. 

Harry took another moment to appreciate Louis' peaceful morning softness before finally sitting up to gather up his phone and other belongings. Once he had himself together, he aimed a cheeky grin back towards Louis, "Okay, but you'll be missing out on my masterpiece if you don't."

"Think that's really for me to decide.  Wouldn’t you agree, Harold?  I mean, I could come all the way to Holmes Chapel only to find out your cake is total crap.  Tastes like cardboard. That would be a right shame, wouldn’t it now?"

"You know what?  You’re absolutely right.  You shouldn’t take my word for it.  It’s probably best if  you come see for yourself," Harry was smiling broadly which took away from his attempt to appear indifferent, but he honestly couldn’t stop himself.  

"We’ll see.  Maybe I will."  

"Okay. Maybe I'll see you, Lou."

"Bye Curly."

 

_ ~L~ _

 

It was the indoor snowstorm that tipped him off to his first stupid mistake.  As he looked through flour dusted eyelashes around the destroyed back kitchen of the bakery, Louis realized that he should’ve just agreed with Harry that last night was a date.  Perhaps then, they wouldn’t have found themselves cleaning for hours on end, a good portion of the time spent on hands and knees. His back was screaming in protest from their efforts. 

As it turns out, flour spreads more quickly than an airborne virus.  One sneeze and that shit clings to everything within a ten foot radius.  It was everywhere and it was a downright bitch of a mess to clean up.  Not only was everything covered in a dusty white canopy, but the potential to sustain injury to one’s self was significantly increased.  In other  words, flour made things slippery.  Especially hard surface floors such as the bakery's.  It was no surprise that the two of them had slipped and fallen multiple times in the aftermath of the Great Flour Fight.  What they say about hindsight being twenty-twenty was obviously true, and Louis should've just agreed with Harry.   _ If only. _

Here’s the thing.  The question of whether or not last night had been a date had become a point of contention which neither of them could seem to let go. It was important to Harry that Louis acknowledge their day of ‘all things country’ as a proper romantic date, and Louis knew this, but had denied it regardless.  By the time they were lying on the blanket with fingers linked together, there was no longer any question that it had, in fact, been a date.  Harry said it was the best first date he'd been on, and Louis pretty much agreed with him.  That didn’t mean he was gonna admit it though.   _ Hell no. _  Not even after they’d fallen asleep together wrapped around one another’s bodies.  

He simply wasn't ready to admit that he'd gone directly against his own resolve to keep things strictly platonic between them.  Louis had kept up the charade for entertainment purposes after Harry reacted like a disgruntled kitten.  It was way too much fun to see Harry all bent out of shape over it.  He was kind of adorable when he wasn’t getting his way so naturally Louis planned on dragging this out as long as possible.  Was it completely ridiculous and immature of him?  Yes.  Yes it was.  

When he showed up unannounced at Harry's work shortly before his shift ended, Harry's face lit up the moment he saw him.  His dimples popped right out and his green eyes seemed to sparkle even more brightly than usual.  Louis felt warmth spread throughout his body at the mere sight of his boy.  _  His boy _ ?  Okay, Louis really needed to get a grip. It had been one day.  _ One. _ What was this boy doing to him?

If Harry's faint blush was anything to go by, then perhaps Louis wasn't the only one with butterflies in their belly.  They seemed to have a mutual condition of excessive fond.  He was gonna go ahead and assume so because it made his own unstable emotions much easier to deal with.  Harry somehow managed to put all of his excited nerves aside, to provide Louis with a comprehensive tour of the bakery.  Since the owner was out running some errands, Harry was able to bring him into the back kitchen for _ ‘an exclusive behind the scenes tour’.  _  It was clear he took his summer job very seriously.  The inside peek at ' _ where the magic happened' _ (Harry's words) was impressive, but Louis wanted to sample the treats more than he wanted to learn how to make them. He'd been promised cake and it was time for the curly-haired one to deliver. 

That specific train of thought was responsible for launching the Great Flour Fight.  As Harry droned on and on about the importance of using quality ingredients in order to produce high quality products, Louis mind began to wander.  While he was sure it was truly fascinating, he'd been fantasizing about chocolate cake ever since Harry first brought it up.  So his lack of attention was entirely Harry’s fault, honestly. 

Without thinking twice about how it might sound, the words flew out of his mouth, interrupting a long-winded explanation on the differences between artificial vanilla and pure vanilla extract. "Hey, Curly. How about slicing up some of that special cake you were bragging about?  Then you can finish telling me all about the magic ingredients." He flashed a hopeful grin in Harry's direction. 

The pout on his lips told Louis in no uncertain terms that he was disappointed.  "Wait...did you come here  _ just _ for chocolate cake?" Harry asked him point blank. It should've made him feel bad or at least a little guilty, but instead, Louis felt even more helplessly endeared. Because Harry looked every bit like a grumpy toddler right now. Louis desperately wanted to kiss that adorable pout right off of his face.  These overwhelming fond feelings of his were becoming quite problematic.   _ Focus.  _

"You were the one singing endless praise about your cake, Harry.  So are you really surprised that I wanna see for myself?  This is cake we're talking about, after all.   _ Chocolate _ cake.”  Harry was staring back at him in disbelief and Louis shouldn't have said the next part. He really should’ve stopped speaking, but the thoughtless words tumbled from his lips anyway.  “Why else would I be here?" 

Time seemed to freeze while Harry stared back at him without responding.  Louis immediately knew that he'd made a mistake, but it was too late for him to right his wrong. Before he could do or say anything, Harry had grabbed a handful of flour from an open bag sitting nearby and lobbed it in Louis’ direction, aiming specifically for his face.  Despite having a truly terrible throwing arm and even worse aim, he managed to clip the bottom of Louis’ chin.  The vintage black t-shirt he was wearing, however, was fully covered. Harry's eyes widened comically as soon as the flour made contact.

Louis couldn’t even be angry about it, because he probably deserved this for being such a stubborn arse. In fact, he was sure he did. Still, nobody had ever won a food fight against him and he wasn't about to let that statistic change. Not even for the sake of a cute curly-haired baker.  “Fuck. I'm sor-,” Harry's apology cut off mid sentence when Louis grabbed the open bag and tossed a giant handful right back at him.

Everything that occurred afterwards was pretty much a complete blur.  Those first two handfuls of flour were all it took to turn the floor of the bakery into a slippery mess. When Louis reached for Harry mid-assault, he lost his footing and sent them both crashing straight to the ground.  Harry somehow managed to grab more flour on his way down and nailed Louis square in the face this time. Which meant that he was technically winning. That was unacceptable, so Louis was forced to fight back dirty. Full body contact wrestling. Because obviously. 

The thing about wrestling with pretty boys you’re attracted to is that it tends to incite pheromones which make you yearn for an altogether different kind of touching.  Which is what led to the kissing.  In between the handfuls of flour they continued to throw at one another and the rolling around on the ground, there had definitely been some incidental kissing and lip biting.  And it wasn't sweet and innocent like it had been the night before.  Far from it, really.

At one point, Louis accidentally let his guard down and quickly found himself flat on his back with Harry sitting astride his hips. For a moment Louis laid there perfectly still, blinking up at him slowly as he processed their current position.  It was a lot.  He didn’t have long to consider the possibilities because Harry saw his opportunity and took it.  He slammed Louis’ arms above his head, restraining them easily in one of his oversized hands.  With his other hand, he tilted Louis’ head back to gain better access to his collarbones which were peeking out from under his stretched out shirt.  As Harry’s breath fanned warmly over his skin, Louis’ pulse picked up speed and his brain short circuited.  His breathing became erratic.

Louis never should have let his guard down because as soon as Harry's lips made contact with his neck, he bit down hard.  No doubt that was gonna leave a mark.  It served as a sharp reminder, though.  They were currently engaged in a flour war and Louis could not allow himself to be distracted.  Not even if a pretty boy happened to be sitting on top of him.  

In no time at all, Louis moved himself into a better position for retaliation.  By the end of the GFF, Harry had multiple dark red marks of his own along his jawline.  Louis wasn't sure what to be more pleased about - the treasure map he’d left on the boy or the fact that he’d managed to grab the full bag of flour and had doused Harry proper good with it.  Of course he'd also gotten himself and even more of the bakery in the process, but the important thing here was that he was pretty sure he was winning.  

God only knows how much time went by while they trashed the back kitchen area.  White flour covered every visible surface making it look like a winter crime scene.  Loose powder fell from his hair like snowflakes, slowly drifting towards the ground and partially obscuring his vision.  Despite his limited eyesight, he kept a small reserve clutched inside his fist as he waited for the right moment to strike again.   _ What?  He liked winning, okay?  _

Even though Louis was the one responsible for inciting him, it had technically been Harry's choice to start this war.  And he’d be damned if he was gonna let the curly-haired one win.  He didn’t care how pretty he was.  Not happening.  “Lou,” Harry whined from his prone position on the floor.  A strange feeling ran through him each time Harry used the nickname, but he couldn’t allow himself to lose focus because of it.  Louis had managed to get Harry face down in the flour after they'd fallen to the ground for the third time.  He currently sat atop Harry’s bum where he was holding him securely in place to prevent him from striking again.

“Yes, Curly?” he answered sweetly.

“Lou, please.  Let me up.  Shit.  Lou.  Margo could come back any minute and ‘m gonna get sacked.” Harry’s pleading was unconvincing, though.  The fact that he was laughing breathlessly at the same time basically contradicted his attempt at seriousness.  By the way, had Louis mentioned that he'd discovered Harry was ticklish?  Because he had and that might've been his best discovery yet.  While continuing to laugh happily, he attempted to wiggle his way out from Louis' grip, and although he failed miserably, Harry had managed to send Louis to half mast. 

“What do I get if I let you up, Harry?  Hmm?  Do I get my cake then?” Louis inquired in the most threatening tone he could muster.  Sadly, even to his own ears he didn’t sound that scary.  Dammit.  He’d have to try harder.

“Admit it was a date and you can have the cake,” Harry huffed out another frustrated giggle.  He was hiccuping now on top of it, a funny combination of laughing hiccups really.  It must’ve been exhausting because he was barely able to keep up the fight.

Louis leaned forward into Harry’s ear and whispered, “Never,” before grinding himself deliberately against Harry's bum a few times and eliciting the most delicious sounds from him.  Look, he refused to be the only one frustrated.  If Louis was suffering, then Harry would suffer as well.  Turnabout is fair play and all that.  It backfired a little when the sounds only made him harder. Louis needed to move away from him before Harry caught onto his situation. 

That in mind, Louis jumped up in one fluid motion and backed away from Harry, giving him a chance to climb to his feet.  Holding his hands up in a placating manner, he spoke steadily.  “Listen Harry, You promised me chocolate cake, I came here for said cake.  You've given me precisely zero cake.  Instead, I’ve been ruthlessly attacked by you.  This is not gentleman-like behavior.  Far from, really.  I’m beginning to think that you lied to me last night.  I can’t trust you at all.  Can I, Curly?”  He circled around him slowly like a predator planning their attack while Harry stood in the middle of the room looking very much like a child that had been refused their favorite toy.  

Grumpy Harry was borderline comical.  Even now, with his hands on his hips and his lip curled into a half snarl aimed straight at him, Louis had to stop himself from laughing.  Especially when he hiccuped adorably and then stifled the giggles that followed.  He was a confused and angry kitten.  That’s exactly what he was.  His current disheveled appearance didn’t help him any, either. Louis had pulled Harry’s shirt so hard that the neck was falling off one of his shoulders Flashdance style.  The dark marks that he’d given him were visible all along his neck where it now hung loosely.  His breathing was slightly labored from the struggle they’d just had on the floor and he was holding Louis’ eyes as if they were in a genuine face-off.  Which he supposed in a roundabout way they kind of were.  The flour that covered him only added to the humor of the whole situation.  Louis was one second away from breaking down into hysterical laughter, when the sound of a door opening stopped him cold.

He turned his head just in time to see a startled middle-aged woman looking completely shell shocked as she took in her surroundings.  “Harry?” she asked quietly.

Louis presumed that this must be the shop owner, Margo.  She didn’t blink, at all, as her eyes frantically darted around the back kitchen and she wasn’t the only one staring at them either.  There were two customers standing directly behind her gawking at the two of them covered head to toe in flour.  

Louis remained perfectly quiet and still as he waited to see how Harry would talk his way out of this mess.  And to be clear, it was a hot mess.  Thankfully they’d kept the fight confined to the back kitchen area so the front part of the bakery remained intact, but that was the only saving grace.  The back area was destroyed.  No wonder Margo looked like she might burst into tears. If this was Louis’ bakery, he’d probably wanna have a good cry too.  The regret was quickly creeping in, but there was nothing he could do.  The damage had already been done.

“Margo...I can explain.” Harry finally spoke.

 

_ ~H~ _

  
  


It took hours. Hours of cleaning and baking to restore the back of the bakery to it’s former glory.  After Harry talked Margo down from the ledge, he sent her home with the promise that he’d stay as long as it took to get the shop back in order.  Thank god Louis offered to help him with it or he might never have finished.  The fact that it looked more like a winter wonderland than a kitchen when they started made the task a bit daunting to be honest. Technically speaking, this was really no one's fault but their own so they had only themselves to blame.  That didn't stop him from groaning about the ache in his lower back, though. 

They’d spent a considerable amount of time on their hands and knees and that had been the likely cause of his pain. But it had also been a gift.  Because the view of Louis’ bum in that position was one Harry wouldn’t soon forget.  The soft curves of his spine?  The bulging muscles in his biceps which held him up?  The firm roundness of...?  Actually, scratch that.  He would  _ never _ forget it.   _ Ever _ .  

Had he anticipated that an innocent flour fight would require this much work after the fact, he might’ve reconsidered starting it in the first place.   _ Might have. _  Because if Harry were being completely honest, he didn’t fully regret it.  He actually didn’t regret it at all.  

Because certain things might not have happened had he not thrown that first handful of flour in Louis’ face.  For starters, he might not have gotten the chance to feel Louis’ body pressed against his own as he struggled to gain the upper hand in the GFF.  And that had felt truly amazing.  There were no words adequate enough to describe it.  

God, Harry was in so deep.  There was really no point in denying it any longer.  He’d tried playing it cool.  He’d tried the seduction route.  He’d gone full out romantic as well.  Perhaps it was time for him to lay all his chips on the table.  Try the one hundred percent honest route instead.  

And what was the honest to god truth?  Well the truth was, Harry wanted Louis so damn much that he ached for him.  Every single time Louis aimed a true smile in Harry’s direction, he'd felt as if his heart might explode, overwhelmed with emotions which couldn't be contained inside his chest any longer.  And every time their lips met, he felt as if he was drowning in him.  And the scary thing was that he'd happily give up breathing if it meant he could continue to feel Louis’ lips pressed against his own.  

Earlier that day when Harry bit into Louis’ collarbone, marking him deliberately, he’d wanted to unleash a victorious battle cry declaring  _ mine mine MINE _ .  Of course he knew Louis wasn’t his, but more than anything, he wanted him to be.  In the heat of the moment, it had felt like he was.  

They were currently sitting on the floor of the bakery with their backs propped up against the wall.  Both of them were completely wiped out from the cleanup.  And unfortunately, the cakes and pastries, which had been cooling in the back couldn’t be saved.  So they’d had to bake some fresh ones to replace those which had fallen victims to the battle.  Harry provided Louis with a mixer and some measuring tools along with a quick crash course in proper mixing technique.  Then, he reluctantly trusted Louis to prep some of the batter so that he could get everything into the ovens as quickly as possible.  It had been a bit of a mad rush, but the two of them had gotten it done.  The stainless steel kitchen was shining like new again. The floor had been swept, mopped and tested just in case. All the cakes and pastries were ready for the following day's morning rush.  And the two of them?  They were done. 

“How the hell do you do this on the regular, Curly?  Christ, I’m tired,” Louis moaned out his disapproval.  He probably wasn’t cut out for the lifestyle of a baker.  Good thing Harry was since Louis clearly had a sweet tooth.  Speaking of which…

“Don’t suppose you’d wanna take your piece of chocolate cake to go so we can head back to yours?  I could really go for a soak in the hot tub.” Harry looked towards Louis hopefully. It would be great if he agreed because between sleeping outdoors last night and today's shenanigans, his body ached in places he’d never known he had muscles.  A long soak in the hot tub sounded heavenly to him.

“How do I know this isn’t some kind of dirty trick you’re pulling to get outta giving me the cake?  Because I'm too tired to fight you right now, but make no mistake about it.  If you don’t give me the slice of chocolate heaven you promised, I  _ will _ fight you.” Louis turned his head and pointed his finger at him to drive the point home.  It was clear that’s all he had the strength for and Harry was trying hard not to smile, and failing miserably.  Louis must've sensed his lack of conviction because he narrowed his eyes at him with renewed determination.  “I’ll win too, Curly. You should know that I never lose.  Goddd, I just want my cake.”  The words tapered off at the end as if speaking alone required energy that Louis didn't have. Harry couldn’t help giggling at him a little.  He was trying so hard to come off as scary, but he only ended up sounding more adorable.

“Not gonna fight you, Lou. Too tired and my back hurts too much.  To tell you the truth, I’m actually just using you for your hot tub.  The cake is as good as yours.  Take me to the hot tub and you can have it.”  Harry flashed his dimples and pearly whites at him.  He wasn’t stupid.  His dimples had helped him to get away with many things through the years.  If they could land him in a hot tub with Louis, all the better.  

Louis’ face softened when he saw Harry’s wide smile and he rewarded him with one of his own.  “You’re quite charming, Curly.  I bet you were a handful for your mum back in the day, eh?”  Louis was still smiling, but his brow furrowed in concern as he continued.  “You should've mentioned that you had a bad back, though.  I can tell that you're in pain. Why didn't you say something sooner?” 

It was hard to conceal his emotions over Louis’ concern for his back.  Because on some level, this showed him that Louis actually cared.  And that meant the world to him. Harry felt as if he could run a marathon or maybe climb a mountain.  Maybe tomorrow, though. His level of happiness counteracted his level of pain, as he stretched.  “Dunno. Guess it never came up. But now that it has, it would be poor form for you to deny me the hot tub,” he batted his eyelashes at Louis shamelessly. 

“Alright, Curly.” Louis rolled his eyes fondly.  “You win, I suppose. Pack me up a big slice to go.” 

“I thought you said you never lose?”

“I will literally shove you into the cold water of the pool,” Louis’ eyes twinkled back at him with a challenge. He was clearly competitive about everything, but in a lighthearted way. Always with a smile.  And Harry was besotted, both with the smile and the boy. 

Obviously he couldn’t show Louis how gone for him he was just yet.  Harry may have decided that honesty was the way to go, but he wasn’t prepared to hand over his whole heart with the chocolate cake.  Not yet anyway.  For now, he could be happy with the knowledge that Louis cared for him in some way.  So instead of giving Louis his whole heart, he gave him his hand and pulled him up from his spot against the wall.  “I’ll drive.” Not that there was any other option.  Harry knew that Louis had caught a ride to Holmes Chapel earlier.  The details were unimportant, though.  Because hot tub.  The hot tub was important.  “Just have to stop at mine for some trunks.”

 

_ ~L~ _

  
  


This might’ve been Harry’s best idea yet because the water felt amazing against his aching body.  They were currently lounging in the hot tub after stopping at Harry’s place for his trunks.  Of course, they’d been derailed for a bit by Harry’s mum, Anne. She’d caught them on their way inside, and immediately shuffled them into the kitchen, insisting they both stay for dinner.  There was a lasagna due to come out of the oven any second so the timing  _ ‘couldn’t be more perfect’ _ and that was that.  She would hear none of their excuses and left no room for arguing.

Normally Louis would’ve been thrilled about a delicious home cooked meal.  Garlic bread?  Yes please.  As it was, he was so exhausted that he barely kept his head from falling forward into his dish.  Lucky for him, Harry was on the exact same page.  The two of them were a truly sad pair of dining companions.  Thank goodness Anne and Robin had taken over the bulk of the conversation.  Louis felt a bit bad about it to be honest, but he figured he could make it up to them some other time.  Shortly after they finished eating, Harry insisted he needed to get Louis back home and Louis honestly could’ve kissed him right then and there.  He’d never been so grateful for the easy out.  

 

_ ~~~~~ _

 

“Don’t you own any other swim trunks Curly?” Louis inquired lazily.  He bit his bottom lip as he watched Harry’s face cloud over in distress.

Everything had been going so well until he opened his big mouth.  Harry’s face said it all really.  He was offended and it was all Louis’ fault.  Damn his lack of filter.  Stan was right. Louis really was a complete twat sometimes.  The worst part was that he hadn’t even meant to say it in the first place.  He blamed pure exhaustion for letting those words slip out.  It’s not like he meant anything bad by it either.  It’s just that Harry was always wearing those shorts.  And seriously, those stupid yellow shorts... _ did _ something to Louis.  Something he really didn’t fancy his younger sister’s curious eyes picking up on.  Not to mention the horror if his mum happened catch him.  God, NO.  He couldn’t even imagine.

“I dunno.  You seemed to appreciate them the other day.  At least a certain part of you did.  I remember it quite clearly.”  It would’ve sounded suggestive if Harry wasn’t partially scowling at him.  Of course he was within his right to accuse Louis of being a hypocrite.  Regardless, Louis felt his face flushing a dark shade of pink.  Harry had him there,  Louis wasn’t soon to forget how he slammed into the pool house, or that he had fled to Donny immediately afterwards.  He’d been a proper head case that day and it was all down to Harry’s stupid yellow shorts.  Which he obviously hated.  Except that he didn’t because secretly he loved them.  Yeah, no.  He actually still hated them a little bit.

“Listen, you're not wrong, but in my defense, they’re practically indecent.  As a sane, sexually active adult, surely you understand that I can’t be blamed for having a completely predictable reaction to them?” Louis was impressed with himself for managing to string together so many words in his current condition.   The heat from the hot tub combined with his muscle loosening up, and this discussion about Harry's shorts, were all making him feel sleepy, light headed, and turned on. 

Meanwhile, Harry’s face had dropped all traces of annoyance, changing into something more along the lines of smug bastard.  He flashed a crooked grin in Louis’ direction, and Louis knew he was screwed.  Harry’s eyes were definitely twinkling a little brighter, the green looking like sparkly jewels, lit up by the dim lights surrounding the pool.   Harry was trouble; serious trouble.  A too pretty and charming menace of a pool boy.  And Louis was in way too deep, but he wasn’t sure if he even cared anymore. 

“Come ‘ere,” Harry challenged him in a deep, raspy voice.  Even his voice did things to Louis.   Why had he ever tried to fight this?  It seemed so silly to him now.

Louis met Harry’s eyes and held them for a beat before breaking contact to chance a glance towards the house.  Last he’d seen, his family had been gathered round the den watching a movie together.  He wasn’t sure if he should risk it, because he was fairly certain Harry wasn’t asking him to come over for a handshake.  

If they were caught, it would be awful.  He didn’t want to entertain his nosy family’s questions about them, nor did he really fancy placing a label on the change in their relationship.   Clearly he and Harry had some kind of unspoken agreement about the fact that they were working their way towards something together.  He just wasn’t quite sure what ‘something’ was exactly.  

They hadn’t given into Anne’s curious stares at Harry’s house either, choosing to pretend they didn’t notice.  Louis was sure they’d left her with many unanswered questions.  In fact, she probably dialed up his mum as soon as they turned the key in the ignition. When they’d arrived back here, he hadn’t missed the raised eyebrow his mum shot his way or Lottie’s less than subtle wink when they stopped inside to grab his trunks.  Belatedly, he wondered if any of them had noticed the lovebites that littered both of their necks and jawlines.  They would’ve been hard to miss.

So how would he classify what they were if they were caught?  They hadn't spoken about it. Were they friends?  That felt like an inadequate description.  He’d certainly never kissed any of his friends the way he’d kissed Harry.  He’d never fallen asleep under the stars with any of his friends either.  Not with their bodies wrapped around one another like long lost puzzle pieces.  They were not just friends.  What they were exactly remained a mystery, but ‘just friends’ didn’t do their new relationship justice. 

When he finally looked over at Harry, he was rolling his eyes.  “Don’t be daft.  They’re not paying us any attention.  And besides, I have this.”  Harry reached behind him and produced a plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it.  Louis felt his face light up instantly.  “You have to come over here if you want a taste though.  And I think you do.  Want a taste that is.” Harry tacked onto the end with another one of his dimpled smiles.  And was that a wink?  Did he just fucking wink at him?  Of course he did because of course.   _ Jesus Christ.  Harry really was going to be the death of him. _

Louis slowly slid his body around the circular hot tub bench until he was beside Harry with their knees brushing together under the water.  It felt nice.  “Gimme,” he ordered as he reached his hand out to grab the fork out of Harry’s hand.

“Nuh uh,” Harry teased him while at the same time moving his hand just out of reach.  Louis shot him his best puppy dog pout, but all that it earned him was Harry’s happy laughter.  “That’s pitiful Lou.”

“Ugh. You are the absolute worst, Curly.  You know damn well you promised me, but fine.  We’ll do this your way,” he huffed with an exaggerated eye roll. “Please, pretty please, can I have a taste of your magical chocolate cake, Harreh?”  He blinked his eyes coquettishly at Harry as he peered up at him through his eyelashes.  Listen, if Harry wanted to play, he would happily oblige.  And Louis would use whatever tools he had to get his way.  His mum always told him he had lovely eyelashes, so.

He wished he could say that Harry gave in on the spot and handed him the cake, but sadly, that was not the case.  Instead, Harry turned his body sideways on the bench, criss-crossed his legs and nudged Louis into a position that mirrored his own.  Once they faced each other, he inched forward until their knees were touching again. Then he placed the plate down gently behind him, leaned forward and took both of Louis’ hands in between his own.  “Louis?  Lou?”  Harry whispered.

Oh fuck. What was Harry gonna ask him?  This felt serious, and Louis had never done serious before.  They’d only met a few weeks ago and while he could finally admit that he was soft on Harry, he didn’t know that he was ready for serious.  Fuck.  Louis could feel his breathing picking up speed with nervous anticipation. “Yeah, Curly?”

“Today was a date, right?” Harry asked him as a shit-eating grin spread across his face.   _ Wanker.  Harry was a wanker _ .  To prove his point, Harry broke out in loud obnoxious laughter.  “Fuck Louis.  You should see your face.  Oh my God.”  Harry’s head was thrown back, his whole body vibrating in mirth. 

He was a beautiful wanker, though. Louis had to give him that.  So beautiful as he laughed into the quiet night that it stole Louis’ breath.  The dim lights of the pool reflected off his chest and face, illuminating him until he practically glowed like the moon in a clear night’s sky.  Louis shook his head in an attempt to clear his muddled brain, because Harry, shining like the moon was actually the last thing he needed to be thinking about right now.  Louis needed to focus on the task at hand, because it hadn’t escaped his attention that he had yet to get a taste of that cake. And Louis didn’t lose.  Since his hands remained clutched in Harry’s, he squeezed them gently and started caressing his thumbs against his skin in a relaxing motion.  Harry’s laughter slowly quieted down and when his eyes met Louis’, he fell completely silent as he watched him and waited.

“Harry,” Louis whispered.  He could see Harry’s adam’s apple bob in his throat when he swallowed.   _ Good.   _ Louis lifted his body from the water and gently pushed Harry so that his back was flush against the wall of the hot tub.  Once satisfied with his position, he moved his own body even closer to him before straddling Harry’s lap with a knee resting on either side of his hips.  Then he caged Harry in further by resting his hands on the outside of the hot tub by each side of him.  Harry was fully trapped now.  He sat with his head tilted back and his eyes laser-focused on Louis as he waited for him to make the next move.  When his breath hitched in his throat, Louis could hear it.  They were close enough for him to see Harry’s eyes dilating and it was intoxicating.  Louis felt powerful, but he had business to attend to, so.

Very slowly, Louis leaned in and swiped his tongue over Harry’s bottom lip, loving the fact that he could feel it tremble slightly from his touch.  He smiled as he bit down gently and then he stepped it up even further when he pressed their shirtless chests together for the first time.   _ Oh my God. _  Harry felt smooth and wet and fucking amazing against his skin and Louis forgot for a second that he was on a mission.  All synapses were firing and screaming at him for  _ more _ .  And though he wanted nothing more than to stay attached to Harry’s chest, Louis wanted to win more than anything else.

“Fuck, Lou.  I want…,” Harry trailed off on a slight moan as he reached his arms behind Louis and grabbed his bum in his large hands, pulling them even closer together.

That worked to Louis’ advantage because it gave him even more leverage to reach behind Harry. “Me too, Harry.  I want…,” Louis trailed off as he grabbed the plate with the cake and then quickly leaned back from Harry with an evil smirk.  “...cake,” he finished with a victorious smile.

 

_ ~H~ _

 

He  _ so _ did not just do that.  Except clearly he had.  Harry remained reclined against the back of the hot tub as he blinked at Louis in both confusion and frustration.  While he attempted to catch his breath and make sense of what the hell had just happened, Louis lifted the fork to his mouth and took a giant bite of the chocolate cake. 

Harry would’ve been downright furious if he could think straight. Thankfully he couldn't. Think straight that is.  Because all of Harry's blood had traveled south the second Louis dropped his body down slowly on top of his thighs.  He found himself in a situation that wouldn't be changing anytime soon without proper relief.  While Harry sat mesmerized over the fact that he had a lap full of beautiful boy, Louis let out a pornographic-grade moan around a second forkful of cake. 

Harry wasn't gonna make it.  He'd come so far, even managing to have the upper hand for the briefest of moments, but this was bound to be his undoing. Because there was nothing,  _ literally nothing _ , hotter than Louis sitting bare chested and wet, with his bum strategically situated on Harry's cock as he moaned about cake. 

"Fucking hell, Curly," he spoke with cake still in his mouth.  If he wasn’t currently having an existential crisis, Harry would’ve been completely disgusted with him.  As it was, he was only further endeared to this ridiculous boy.  But also he was hard.  Fully hard, in fact.  Louis finished chewing and swallowed before fixing Harry with a smoldering stare.  "This. Is. Outrageous."

Harry one hundred percent agreed, but he wasn't personally thinking about the cake. He couldn't have spoken if his life depended on it.  Louis’ eyes were clear blue crystals filled with promises, and Harry wanted to cash each one in.  All he could do was blink helplessly back at him, silently imploring him to put the fucking cake down so he could get the hell back to what he'd started. How dare he leave him in this delicate state!  It was cruel is what it was. 

Of course Louis didn't do that.  Instead, he lifted another huge bite to his mouth and continued to moan shamelessly around the fork.   _ Dead. Harry was dead. _ That's probably why he couldn't move or speak.  Louis had a little bit of chocolate by the corner of his lip and without thinking about it, Harry leaned forward with the intent to lick it off his face.  

Louis wouldn't give him the satisfaction, though. He leaned back with an, "Oi!  Get your own, Curly. This cake's mine."  And then he quickly shoved another bite in his mouth before Harry could close in on him. 

"Louis." Harry groaned.  Louis didn't respond, but maintained eye contact while licking his lips instead. "Lou," Harry tried again. "Lou, I will literally bake you five cakes tomorrow if you put that plate the fuck down."

Louis narrowed his eyes at Harry and focused on licking his fork.  _ Obscene. _  This was obscene.  Harry was actually in pain. "Ten. Ten cakes," Harry begged him, "Just...please."

Louis stopped and fixed him with a serious stare, "Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep, Harry.  We're talking about chocolate cake.  You know I'm not gonna forget this, right?"

"I promise.  Fuck.  You can have as much cake as you want. Just, please..."  Harry leaned in again to lick the bit of chocolate from Louis' lip.  Then he moved one of his hands behind Louis' neck to pull him in closer for a proper kiss, deepening it immediately.  He was more than a little grateful that Louis melted into him.  In his current state, Harry wasn’t sure he could’ve handled being pushed away again.

Once Louis was good and distracted, he pried the plate from his hands and tossed it behind himself. Thankfully, Louis allowed him to take it without protest and relaxed into Harry's embrace, sighing into his mouth.  “I-mm- won’t forget,” Louis mumbled before kissing him back with the perfect amount of pressure.  Since he was no longer fighting him off, Harry lowered his hand from Louis' neck to his back so that he could pull his body flush against his own once again.  As soon as their chests reconnected, Harry felt an overwhelming surge of emotions.  

The extent to which Louis' body turned him on was beyond comprehension.  He'd never felt like this with anyone before.  The sensation of their skin rubbing against one another was sending Harry spinning and he feared he might not recover.  

How much time had he spent admiring the sun kissed glow of Louis’ beautiful skin?  How many times over had he imagined running a finger along Louis’ arm just to see if it was really as soft as it looked? (It was, for the record.)

The hard planes of Louis' chest pressed up against his own had started in a recurring role in his fantasies.   _ So many times he'd pictured this.   _ And now that he was free to run his hands all over his smooth wet skin, Harry’s brain was short circuiting from overstimulation.  

Trying to decide where to touch first was impossible.  It felt like tiny sparks were passing back and forth between them at each place they were connected.  He practically blacked out from the sensation of it all. 

Still, there was a pressing need to get even closer and Harry didn't know how that was even possible.  Louis was already in his lap, rocking into him eagerly.  And yet, somehow it wasn't enough; he wanted him closer still.  

It wasn't even just the heat that had him spinning out of control.  The feelings he had went far beyond that.  Everything just felt so  _ right _ between them.  Being with Louis was as easy as breathing. Had they been destined to find one another?  Because this felt like the thing that people wrote about.  Or sang about.  Other people, though.  Not Harry.  He'd never felt this way before.  Not until now.

Soulmates wasn’t a concept he’d ever subscribed to, but something about the way they fell together so effortlessly was making him question everything he thought he knew before.  Perhaps there was some weight behind those theories he'd read about.  He felt drunk on the curve of Louis spine as he arched into his touch.  The way his body curved into Harry’s was just another thing to add to the growing list of reasons this might actually be fate.  Because the two of them fit perfectly together, like two long lost puzzles pieces reunited after being world apart.  Harry desperately hoped he wasn't alone in this because these feeling were driving him half out of his mind. But then Louis licked along his lips in a request for him to open and he decided to stop thinking altogether. 

The only thing that remained after that was to touch and to feel. So that's what he did. His fingertips glided slowly along wet hips, first in an effort to learn Louis’ curves and then digging in hard enough to leave marks behind.  Their lips were swollen and chapped.  They didn't dare to break away, even when they became dizzy from the heat of the water.  Or was it just the heat they were generating together?  Either way, they were lost to one another in this moment. 

Before he could stop himself, his hands were roaming down Louis' back until they reached his bum.   With a firm grip, he massaged him overtop his swim trunks while wondering if he could get away with sneaking his fingers under the material.  If the way Louis was even more enthusiastically rocking himself into Harry was any indication, he felt like it might be okay to try.   _ God, he really wanted to.  _

Because had Harry mentioned how absolutely perfect Louis' arse was?  As far as he was concerned, artists everywhere should be paying Louis to model for them.  It was beyond perfection.  Harry couldn't believe he was actually gripping it in his hands.  Or that he was about to run a finger beneath the seam of his trunks to see if he could push this one step further. 

Everything happening right now was a lot to process.  It felt like Louis was everywhere.  Like a human body blanket, he fully surrounded Harry, wrapping him in up in his heat.  With his arms and legs caging him in and the weight of Louis holding him down, Harry should have felt trapped.  Instead, he felt warmth along with happiness and also desire.  So much desire.  Pushing him and pushing him. 

“Lou,” Harry squeezed his cheeks between his hands and felt Louis’ cock twitch against his belly. 

“Fuck,” they both exhaled at the same time. 

“I want…,” Harry ran his finger inside the seam of Louis’ swim trunks. 

“Yes. Do it,” Louis responded and Harry didn't need to be told twice. Without hesitating, he shoved Louis’ trunks down as far as he could before gripping his cheeks in his palms like he'd been wanting to do forever now. 

“Fuck, Harry. Your hands. You're...really... good with your hands,” he breathlessly choked out.  Louis was alternating between pushing forward into Harry's chest and pushing backwards into his hands now. 

“Jesus Christ, Lou. Your body…” Harry squeezed again and then buried his face in Louis’ neck, where he bit him again. Not as hard as he’d done earlier, but enough to elicit some of the same sounds from him.  And then he instantly regretted it because those sounds went straight to his cock.  Biting back a whimper, he raised his own hips in an effort to seek some much needed friction. 

“My body?  What about yours?” Louis asked him before he shoved his hand down the front of Harry’s shorts and wrapped his fingers around him.  “Fuck, Harry. You're…Christ…”

“Off. Want them off,” Harry babbled as he pushed himself into Louis’ hand and squeezed him at the same time. They both moaned out loud. 

“Okay. You...you have to let go for a second though,” Louis answered. 

“No,” he squeezed even harder. 

“Just for a second,” Louis insisted. 

With a protesting whine, Harry finally relented. As soon as he let go, Louis scrambled off of his lap and immediately shoved his own trunks the rest of the way off. Harry wasted no time doing the same to his own and then finally  _ finally  _ he had a lap full of a wholly naked Louis rubbing up against him instead. 

Their cocks glided against one another in the water and it felt like heaven. He was in heaven. “Yes. Yes, fuck yes.”  Harry chanted over and over again.  The sounds that came from the hot tub were positively indecent.  Hopefully nobody could hear them out here.  He settled one hand on Louis’ lower back and with his other, reached down to wrap it around the both of them. 

 

_ ~L~ _

 

This wasn't gonna last. Rather,  _ he  _ wasn't gonna last. That was probably a more accurate statement. Harry's large hand stroked up both of their shafts and Louis’ eyes rolled to the back of his head. “Perfect,” he heard a voice saying. He didn't know which one of them was even speaking anymore. It didn't matter. All that he cared about was the soft squeeze around him and the pressure of the cock against his own. He wasn't gonna last. 

“Not gonna last,” he choked out loud. 

“Wanna see you come, Lou.” Harry's eyes were fixed downward as he watched their cocks push through the top of his hand. He looked back up at Louis with his eyes completely blown out before quickly looking back down again, watching in rapt fascination. “Come on, Lou,” he urged him with his deep voice. 

And that was all it took. Louis spilled over Harry's hand as his body vibrated in his lap with his release, his head thrown back in a yell that was far from silent.  It couldn't have been more than a second later or one full stroke before Harry joined him. 

 

_ ~~~~~ _

 

“I could sneak you in. They wouldn't even see you,” Louis reasoned. They were both leaning back against the hot tub wall, too exhausted to move. 

“No. They'd find out. And you'd freak out again.”

“I wouldn't.”

“You would.” Harry left no room for arguing and he was probably right anyway. Louis wasn't quite ready for his family to find out about them. 

“‘S not like I'm gonna keep you like some dirty little secret,” he fought back regardless. Even though he wasn't ready, he couldn't have Harry thinking he never would be. Because he would be. Soon. He just needed a little time to figure out what to say. 

“I know,” Harry replied simply as he reached for Louis’ hand and intertwined their fingers. 

“But when am I gonna see you again?” Louis asked him, hearing the neediness in his own voice. He turned his head slightly and watched as a lazy grin spread over Harry's face. 

“Soon. Probably not tomorrow though. I have a long shift at the bakery.” His smile was so lovely.   

“Fine, but I expect my ten cakes tomorrow anyway, Curly.”  He was rewarded with a giggle and another soft press of lips against his own. 

 

_ ~~~~~ _

_Once again, I owe huge chocolate cake thank yous to both[Lexi ](http://idareyoutotakealook.tumblr.com/)and [Roni](http://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/) ~~I don't know how you put up with me, but I'm so grateful that you do :D  I love you the most!!!  Having said that, any and all mistakes are my own as I have a terrible habit of going back to edit more times than anyone should._

_Thank you so much for reading. If you liked it and feel like sharing,[here is a link for the tumblr post](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147552164810/i-hate-your-stupid-yellow-shorts-au-where-louis). Feedback is always appreciated.  _

_Chapter 5 should be out by Wednesday at the latest.  I still expect it to be 6 chapters and roughly 40-50k._

_Thank you again for reading.  I hope that you enjoy :D_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This goes without saying (so let me say it anyway): This is a work of pure fiction. Made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.

 

_~L~_

 

“Louis!  Tell Daisy we both get to have one,” Phoebe shrieked from outside his bedroom door. It was way too early for this, he thought. Rolling over, he saw the 2:33 lit up on his alarm clock. Hmm. Not so early after all.

“The box specifically says ‘Lou’ on it, Phoebe!”  What the hell were those two on about, Louis wondered as he scrubbed a hand down his face, somehow still exhausted despite the time.

“Girls, please,” he trailed off in hopes they'd stop shouting.

“MUM!  HE’S AWAKE!”

Right. No such luck. He shuffled to his door and opened it with a resigned sigh. He supposed it was time for him to join the living anyway. “What's all this fuss about, girls?”

“The cakes are for Lou,” Daisy reiterated to Phoebe with a hand on her hip. _Cakes?_

“Good afternoon, Darling,” his mum sang out as she rounded the corner. “How lovely of you to join us today.”

He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. It was rather late. Perhaps she’d needed his help this morning and he’d gone and slept it all away. “Sorry Mum. I haven't been sleeping great…”

“Oh I _know,_ honey. I noticed that you've been quite busy the last two nights.” Her eyes twinkled at him, and Louis could feel the mortification creeping in. “Speaking of which, you need to come see what Anne dropped off this for you this morning. It seems Harry sent some treats over for you.”

“And there's enough for all of us to have one!” Phoebe piped in immediately. _Ohmygod did Harry really bake him ten cakes?_ He began making his way towards the kitchen, with the girls and his mum hot on his heels.

A lone pink pastry box sat on the counter with his name scrawled on top of it beside a lopsided smiley face. There was no way it was big enough to hold ten cakes. The box had apparently also been opened already because the ribbon that had once tied it closed was laying beside it. Louis flashed an accusatory glance at his sisters and they all pointed a finger at each other at the same time. He stifled his laughter, not ready to let his nosy family off the hook yet.

Harry was sadly mistaken if he thought that one cake was gonna cut it, he thought. _Ten cakes._ That's what he'd promised him. Louis took a final step towards the box and opened it up to peek inside. And then he covered his mouth as carefree giggles erupted from him.

That cheeky boy had sent Louis ten miniature chocolate cakes. Son of a bitch. He found a loophole. His family was looking at him curiously, as if he lost the plot and he couldn't even argue because it felt like he had. “Private joke,” he tried, but failed to explain.

“Louis, can we…?” They didn't even need to finish the question because of course the answer was yes. He'd basically do anything for his little sisters. Even if it meant sacrificing some of the best chocolate cake he'd ever tasted.

Sighing dramatically, he answered them, “Go ahead.”

“Oh my god, Louis. You have to try this!” Phoebe exclaimed.

“Wow, this is amazing, Louis.” Daisy held the box out to him, encouraging him to take one. Which he happily accepted because he hadn't had breakfast yet.  And cake is basically like modified pancakes, both made with egg and flour, making it a perfectly acceptable breakfast food.

It took less than five minutes for the rest of the family to descend on the kitchen once they heard everyone fawning over Harry's delicious masterpiece.  And before Louis knew what had happened, he was standing there speechless holding an empty box. “You lot are the absolute worst,” he insisted, barely concealing his pride for Harry. As if he had anything at all to do with the cakes. _Get it together. Honestly._

“If you're extra nice to Harry, I'm sure he'll make you some more,” Lottie reasoned, again with the same annoying wink as the day prior. He snarled teasingly at her in response. “Never mind. I forgot you're an arsehole so you'll probably never get him to bake for you again.”

“Language Charlotte!” Their mum scolded her.

She rolled her eyes at Jay. “Mum, you know he's been behaving like a complete twat.”

“Charlotte!  Language!  Honest to goodness, your little sisters are sitting right here listening to you!”

“It's not like they've never heard it before…” Louis took that as his cue to sneek away. He had a bone to pick with a certain curly-haired baker.

Opening the door to his room, he scanned it quickly for his phone. Grabbing it, he swiped his finger across the screen and saw that he already had a message waiting for him.

**Good morning, sweetcheeks. I hope you liked your cakes ;)**

_That didn't count, babycakes._

**:((**

_Calm down, Curly. They were delicious. The girls all agreed. They're already gone :(  Send more, please?_

**Hmmmm. What will I get in return if I do?**

Jesus Christ, why was Louis smiling like a fool at his phone?  He was ridiculous, but so was Harry. He should probably let him know.

_NOTHING!  YOU CHEATED AND FOUND A LOOPHOLE. THAT’S FALSE ADVERTISING. YOU OWE ME MORE CAKE._

**You'll have to speak with my attorney regarding your concerns. My cakes were perfectly legit. I never specified size and I delivered ten of them within the allotted timeframe.**

_You're ridiculous. You'll be getting no more kisses._

**My lawyer and I will carefully consider this new information before responding. But you should know I don't take lightly to idle threats.**

Louis snorted and immediately covered his face in shame. He did NOT snort. What in the world?  Thank god he was alone.

_YOU ARE RIDICULOUS.  I'm changing my number so you will no longer be able to contact me. Good day, Sir._

He placed his phone face down on his dresser and then laid back down on his bed, giggling into his hands. His phone pinged to tell him he had a message, but Louis was determined not to look. He was stronger than that. He'd make Harry wait. Five seconds later, his phone was in his hands again and he was grinning maniacally at the words flashing back at him.

**I miss you already, sweetcheeks :))**

_Miss you too, babycakes :))_

Yea. Louis was screwed.

 

  _~_ _H~_

So Louis liked to play.  Harry couldn't deny how much he'd been loving the good-natured competition himself.  It seemed to end up with the two of them attached at the lips so no matter what, Harry always won. Only now the stakes had been raised to a new level.  Louis had actually threatened to withhold kisses. And while Harry was ninety-nine percent convinced that Louis wouldn't actually follow through, this still wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

The two of them had only just got to the kissing bit and he wasn't ready to give it up. Because as it turned out, Harry happened to really like kissing Louis.  Very much a lot, in fact. So he started to think about what he might do to guarantee himself future lip access.

Basically, he needed three things. Cake, yellow shorts, and a plan. Harry had only two of the three, but he was resourceful and determined. Surely he could figure something out.  

 

_~~~~~_

 

It was almost too easy. He found them online and a few clicks later, they were due to arrive on his doorstep within forty-eight hours. He'd known right away that the hardest part was going to be staying away for that long, and he hadn't been wrong. It was torturous at best, but Harry was sure the look on Louis’ face would make it well worth it.

Of course, he'd had to come up with excuses for why he couldn't be there during the past two days and that had been difficult. The more pitiful Louis’ text messages became, though, the more excited Harry got about his plan. Harry was desperately hoping that the old thing people say about absence making the heart grow fonder was true. And if, by a stroke of luck, Louis happened to have a thing for delayed gratification, this could end up being the most fun they’d had together yet.

 

_~~~~~_

 

_There are leaves floating in the pool. Practically a whole tree’s worth._

**Skimmer's in the pool house.**

_Pool boy is shit. Have to speak to mum about docking his pay._

**I work for free Lou.**

_Sorry can't talk right now. Very busy. Doing pool boy’s job._

The messages had been pinging his phone nonstop for the last two days. Harry found them strangely comforting, though. It felt good to be missed. Thank god the shorts had finally arrived though because he was eager to see Louis again.  Hopefully he wouldn't actually withhold kisses like he'd threatened because that would be truly awful. Now that he'd tasted Louis’ lips, he wanted to do it over and over again, preferably for the rest of time.  These last two days had pretty much been hell for him.

Glancing in the mirror one last time, he smiled at his reflection as he considered Louis’ face when he saw him in these for the first time. His belly was filled with fluttery excitement as he grabbed his keys and wallet, ready to head back over to Alderley Edge.

 

  _~L~_

 

 _Oh hell no._  This was a joke, right?  It had to be. Because Louis was choking on his own tongue. Standing across the pool from him was the same boy who'd been on his mind continuously for two days straight.  He was wearing a signature pair of [yellow shorts](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos). But they weren’t the ones Louis had grown accustomed to. These were actually _worse. So much worse._

They looked painted on. Only an inch or two longer than speedos, really.  Honestly, they might as well have been because they were made of fucking spandex.  Louis could see _everything._

_E v e r y t h i n g._

He hadn't seen Harry in two full days (and no, he hadn't missed him at all, thank you very much) and now he was having trouble making eye contact.  Mostly due to the fact that he couldn't tear his eyes away from this new sunshiny hell.  Perhaps Harry hadn't noticed his blatant staring yet and Louis could still save this situation.

 _Nope._ If the lopsided grin aimed directly at him was any indication, he'd noticed. Louis forced himself to smile back, which meant that he stop staring with his mouth wide open in shock.

“Harry!  Where have you been?  We missed you,” Louis’ sisters chorused around him. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. Because how in the bloody hell was he supposed to handle Harry looking like this when his younger sisters were right here?  This was an actual nightmare. Louis might be in hell right now.

“I missed you too, girls.” Harry smiled back at them innocently. How dare he pretend that Louis wasn't suffering right now!   _He knew exactly what he was doing.  Of course he did._ He'd probably worn those shorts on purpose, specifically to torture him. Knowing full well that Louis wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Two days ago, when he'd told Harry he wanted to wait to clue his family into their new relationship status, Harry had insisted that it was fine. But clearly it wasn't fine!  Because Look! At! Him! And his awful shorts!  Louis was obviously going to fight him.

 _“_ Did you bring us anything from the bakery today, Harry?” Phoebe asked him sweetly. Thank god the girls seemed indifferent to Harry's choice of swimwear. They seemed to be breathing and functioning completely normally. Louis wished he could say the same for himself.

“I might've left a box of something in the kitchen, yes.” Harry smiled easily.

“Oh really?  More chocolate cake, perhaps?” Louis chimed in, somehow regaining his voice.

“You know, I'm not sure…can’t remember.” Harry trailed off, scratching his chin in jest.

“That's funny. Because I seem to recall a promise…”

“Oh no, that promise has already been fulfilled.”  

“No I don't think so, _actually_.”

“Okay, but it was.   _Actually._ ” Harry narrowed his eyes at him while somehow managing to keep that cocky grin plastered on his face at the same time.

How the hell was he even arguing about cake with Louis in those fucking shorts?  Jesus Christ, WHY did Louis just glance down at them again? He could feel his face heating up with both frustration and excitement. Because Harry's huge bulge was more than a little evident through the spandex.  And he wasn't even hard; he was just that big.  That was even more infuriating because now all that Louis could think about his dick. In front of his sisters, no less. Harry would definitely suffer for this.  He'd make sure of it.

The girls were looking back and forth between the two of them as though they were watching a tennis match.  Meanwhile, Harry and him were forcibly smiling at one another, challenge shining through clearly in both of their expressions as well as their tones.

Louis desperately needed to distract his sisters so he could have a moment alone with him. It occurred to him that whatever treats Harry had brought might just do the trick.

“Girls, why don't you pop inside to check out Harry’s treats. ‘M sure they're delicious, whatever they may be.”

Stars lit up their eyes and Phoebe responded eagerly. “That's a great idea, Louis.”  It was almost too easy. Every member of his family had the most awful sweet tooth. With any luck, they'd go into a temporary sugar coma and forget to come back outside.

He mentally patted himself on the back as the girls made their way back to the house. And as soon as they were out of sight, he grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him into the pool house. Once inside, the door slammed shut behind him and Louis backed him into a wall, caging him in with his hands flat against the wall by either side of his head.

Harry's eyes blinked owlishly, but the smile never dropped from his face. “Hi,” he stated simply.

“Don't ‘hello’ me Harold.  Are you fucking kidding me with these?” Louis reached down and gripped Harry's cock through his new shorts. Harry moaned shamelessly and leaned in for a kiss. A high pitched laugh escaped from Louis’ lips as he leaned his head away from him. “I don't think so, pal. First, you deny me cake and _then_ you have the audacity to show up here in these trunks? In front of me sisters?  Nope. No kisses for you.”

“But…?”  The confused, petulant scowl on Harry's face was comical. Or it would've been if Louis was in any condition to laugh right now. As it was, he was half hard, trying desperately to maintain the upper hand in this stand off.

“There’ll be none of this for you, either.” Louis slapped his own bum as he grinned wickedly at Harry, delighting in his helpless whimper. “Unless, of course, you're prepared to beg for my forgiveness.”

“I won't beg,” the petulance was back. _Good._

“You will.”

“Won't.”

 _“‘Louis please. I'll bake you ten cakes.’ “_  Louis smirked at him  “Bet I can get you to beg for me again. _”_

“Okay, but what if I get you to beg first?”

“You can try, but you’ll fail. Don't forget Harold: I never lose.”

“We need to set up rules,” Harry insisted.

“No rules,”  Louis replied.  

“Okay, but what are the stakes?”

“What do you want?” Louis cocked his head curiously.

“You.” Harry smiled at him.  “Wanna take you on another date.”  It would've been sweet if he wasn't still standing there in yellow spandex.

“ _Another…?”_ Louis asked just to be an arse.

Harry's smile dropped slightly, replaced with a look of determination. “Fine. If I win, I get to pick out your outfit and take you to a place of my choice for a day.  You can't refuse the outfit or the place. Those are my terms. What are yours?” He raised his eyebrows.

Louis looked at him quizzically. Those were strange terms. Then again, he probably shouldn't overthink it. This was Harry, after all. Sweet and lovely Harry who just wanted to take Louis on a proper date. Bless his heart.  Louis, on the other hand, wanted something less innocent. “I want your mouth.”

Harry's eyes were twinkling back at him now. He obviously liked being challenged which was excellent considering Louis’ mad competitive streak. “You're on.” Harry smiled back at him.  Reaching up, he gripped both of Louis’ hands firmly, and pushed him back just enough to free himself from the wall.

“Oh, and Lou?” Harry leaned into Louis’ space so that he could whisper in his ear. “I don't intend to lose and I already have the perfect outfit picked out for you.” Harry’s warm breath fanned over his ear and down his neck, sending goosebumps all the way down to Louis toes.  

As he watched Harry walk away, he couldn’t help but admire his broad back and the way it tapered down towards his trim waist before curving into a perfect, little bum.  There was no doubt those stupid yellow shorts were going to be the death of Louis.  But that didn't mean he intended to go down without a fight.

 

_~H~_

  
It was a mistake.  He should’ve begged for forgiveness.  Maybe things would've turned out differently. The two of them might have found someplace quiet to reacquaint their lips as their hands explored one another’s bodies.  They could be laughing into one another’s mouths right now. Tasting, feeling and learning.  He could be touching Louis’ soft skin right now, delighting in the tiny shivers that occasionally rippled underneath his fingertips.  Louis might be touching Harry back, drawing sounds from him that made him blush.  Why the hell had he ever thought that taking this bet was a good idea?  Clearly, a moment of weakness in the heat of their standoff had resulted in one of his worst decisions yet.

And now he was suffering, just as Louis promised him he would be.  Across the pool, Louis was sitting in a lounge chair with his legs spread wide in an extremely inviting position, but that wasn’t even the worst part.  Louis was staring straight at him, practically drilling a hole into him, as he sucked on an ice lollie.  The minute he knew he had Harry’s full attention, he dragged his tongue up from the bottom of the lollie, closed his mouth around the top and sucked.   _Hard._  He hollowed out his cheeks, putting on a proper show, while keeping his blue eyes steady on Harry the entire time.   _The entire time._  Leaving Harry helpless to watch him as he ate the whole thing without once averting his eyes.  Harry was half a second from launching himself across the water and crawling into his lap with a white flag.

Perhaps he should’ve tried to be stronger by avoiding eye contact somehow.  But Harry was apparently a masochist who thrived on pain.  So instead, he surreptitiously pressed a palm to himself in an effort to mask the discomfort he was now feeling. It was no use, though.  Louis had been admittedly right about one thing.  These shorts _were_ a bit ridiculous, leaving nothing to imagination.  And his condition was more than a little obvious now.

 _That’s the point_ , he thought to himself as he shook himself out of the ice lollie haze.  Harry needed to get over his irrational frozen dessert jealousy so he could put his shorts to work.  At the very least, he had to try, because he hadn’t been kidding when he told Louis that he had the perfect outfit picked out for him.  He really did.  And it would be a real shame if he never got to see him in it.  With renewed determination, Harry pulled himself up from the chair he’d been lounging on, did a shallow dive into the cool water and made his way over to his favorite spot under the waterfall to contemplate his next move.

 

_~L~_

 

If Louis had to pinpoint the exact moment he knew, he'd have to say that watching Harry deepthroat a banana had been the one.  It was then that he knew, without a doubt, that he was going to lose the bet.  It hit Louis hard, much like a punch in the gut. He wasn't accustomed to losing. Then again, he'd never faced off with one Harry Styles before. To be honest, he was surprised he survived for this long.

It turned out Harry was a minx. Louis had felt quite confident after his frozen dessert spectacle, but his confidence took a dive quickly when Harry decided it was a good idea to practice yoga in the garden. Of course he was still wearing that ridiculous yellow scrap of material that masqueraded as swim trunks, because of course he was. Oh, and they were wet.  They were and it was all a lot to handle quite frankly.

Harry had stood under the waterfall for an unprecedented amount of time just beforehand, running his fingers through his hair and allowing the water to cascade over his smooth skin. Louis hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from him.  

It escalated, though, when Harry spread a blanket out on the grass and began to practice yoga. It started off okay at first and Louis thought it actually might not be so bad.  He even let down his guard and started to breathe normally. That was his second mistake. The first was proposing the bet.

“Whatcha doin, Curly?” he found himself asking.   _What?_ There were no rules against talking during the bet.  There were no rules at all, so.

“M’ back’s still hurting a little, so I’m just doing a little yoga to stretch myself out.”  He made it sound so innocent.  Louis should've known that it wasn’t.  

“Mhm,” he hummed back.  And then, since the bad ideas continued to steamroll off of him, one after the other, “What’s that position called?”

“[ Bharadvaja’s Twist ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos).” Harry answered him while continuing to focus on his form.  And then, despite the fact that Louis didn’t ask again, he continued to rattle off the names of each position that followed.  Which seemed fine at first.  Innocent even.  That’s why Louis continued to watch him unabashedly, because why not?

“[ Cat position ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos).”  Still innocent.  Everything was fine.  Louis was just expanding his horizons and picking up some general knowledge about yoga.  Who knows when it might come in handy.

“[ Bow position ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos).”  Still fine.  Maybe he’d even try out this yoga himself.  It honestly didn’t look too difficult and it was supposed to be great for the body.  Look how flexible Harry was!

“[ Bridge position ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos).”. Oh shit, maybe not.  

Things took a sharp turn for the worse at this point because this position emphasized one of Harry's finer features. The one that Louis was currently doing his best to avoid. For now, anyway. At least, until he won the bet.

“[ Camel position ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos) .”   _Holy fuck._

Louis knew that Harry was big from the other night in the hot tub, but somehow, in the wet yellow shorts in this position, Harry looked even bigger. And Louis was suffering. Again.

A dip in the pool suddenly seemed like a great idea.  Without giving it further thought, Louis jumped into the cool water, silently willing his half-hard dick to go down. He began swimming laps to distract himself, because watching Harry do yoga was having a profound effect on him.  This needed to be brought under control before any of his sisters came back outside and caught onto their back and forth dance.  

After a few laps, he came up for air only to catch Harry palming himself as he watched Louis shamelessly from across the pool. Dammit, they should've made rules. Louis could kick himself for insisting they were unnecessary.  It was clear that they would’ve actually benefitted from a firm set of regulations, with line items such as ‘no crotch grabbing’.  Because Harry Styles was completely obscene. Those shorts were illegal, yoga was far from innocent, Harry was obscene and Louis was on fire. Things were not going well for Louis at all. How the fuck was he supposed to carry on under these conditions?  

Borderline crazy he pushed back off the wall at a new, furious pace, determined to wear himself out before retreating back inside.  Louis needed to get away from too tempting pool boys in too small shorts with oversized cocks. 

He lost track of how many laps he'd swam when he reached for the wall and gripped a firm thigh instead of the stone he was expecting.  Stunned, he yanked his hand away as if he'd been burned and jumped back slightly.  Once he recovered from the initial shock, he realized that he was eye level with Harry's crotch, his eyes already fixated to the spot.  This was going to perhaps be an issue since he couldn’t seem to look away.  Were his eyes broken or something?  Because this seemed to be a reoccurring problem of his.  He should probably have Dan take a look at his eyes; after all, he was a doctor.

“See something you like?”  Harry's voice broke him from his reverie. _What a cocky son of a bitch._

“Wouldn't you like to…” The words died on Louis’ lips the second he raised his eyes to meet Harry's. The cocky grin he expected to find was there alright, but that's not what rendered Louis silent. No. It was the fact that directly in front of him, the most outrageous thing was taking place.  Louis stood completely mystified in the water, watching with disbelief, as Harry took a banana from midair to halfway down his throat in less than two seconds. And the fact that he smiled directly at Louis with his lips closed tightly around the fruit?  Unbelievable. _Did he seriously just deepthroat a fucking banana?_

 _Yes.  Yes he did_ . _And his eyes were twinkling. Son of a…_ There was no time to think because honestly what good could come from that?  None. The answer was none. Because Louis had just watched Harry deepthroat a banana and basically, he was never going to be okay again. Louis’ fingers wrapped around Harry's ankles and he gripped them tightly.

Without giving him a chance to finish his snack, Louis yanked him into the pool and shoved his curly head underwater. He came up sputtering something about ‘rude’ and ‘potassium levels’ so Louis shoved him under again. And then he lost his fucking mind.

He had Harry backed up against the wall of the pool and caged in within seconds.  “I hate you,” Louis breathed out before connecting their lips. This time, their kisses were fast and hard, the two of them breathing heavily into one another's mouths.

“Liar,” Harry moaned into Louis’ mouth.

“Hate your stupid shorts,” Louis replied, moving to Harry's jawline and sinking his teeth in.

“Nghngg,” Harry pressed his hips into Louis’ enthusiastically.

“Hate yoga.” Louis reached his hand up to twist Harry's nipple.

“Ow.” Harry rubbed the sore spot with one hand while pinching Louis’ bum in retaliation with his other. So Louis grabbed both of Harry's hands and restrained them behind his back. Had he wanted to, Harry could've easily broken free, but it appeared he didn't want to. Instead, they continued to rut against one another shamelessly like teenagers while licking into one another's mouths.

Belatedly, it occurred to Louis that they’d been lucky none of his sisters had come back out to the pool yet.  Actually, come to think of it, that was a bit strange.  It was such a lovely day; surely they would've enjoyed some time poolside. What were they getting up to inside?  While he briefly considering this, he accidentally let his guard down.  Before he knew what was happening, their positions were reversed and Harry was latched onto his collarbone with his teeth once again.  And while Louis did occasionally enjoy teeth, Harry took it to another level altogether.  Apparently Louis had fallen for a vampire.

Well, at least he was a hot vampire. Harry was incredibly hot.  So hot that Louis had felt as if he was burning all day long. As a result, he'd completely lost control of this situation. Somewhere in the midst of yellow shorts, cocky smiles and a fucking banana, Louis had lost control, and he was pretty sure he was about to lose their bet as well. “Really fucking hate bananas,” he mumbled against Harry's lips.

This time he was rewarded with breathless giggles followed by a swivel of Harry's hips and a playful thrust. Playful or not, Louis’ blood was on fire. In the back of his mind, it occurred to him that the girls could come back outside any minute now, but he couldn't find it within himself to stop what they'd already started.

 _Does it matter?_ Louis’ conscience argued. _They're not ready to see this,_ he answered himself.

“Pool house,” he demanded.

“Nuh uh. You forgot the magic word,” he could feel Harry's smile against his neck. Yea, Louis was definitely not going to be winning the bet.

  
 

_~H~_

 

For the second time in one day, Harry allowed himself to be dragged into the pool house by the most beautiful boy he'd ever known. He'd love to say that he only trailed behind him willingly because of the extremely important bet he was winning, but the truth was, he'd have followed Louis regardless.

There was something different about this time, though. Because Harry was the one pushing Louis up against a wall as he crowded into his space this time around.

“Say it again,” he demanded.

Louis looked up at him through his eyelashes with his pupils half blown out.  And Harry was possibly going to die right there in the pool house. Because eyelashes. “Please?” The word a soft question.  Harry nodded his head up and down to let Louis know that was exactly what he'd meant. He wanted to hear Louis say it.   _Needed to._ Fortunately, his wish was granted. “Please.  Please, Harry.”

 _Fuck_. No two words had ever sounded so erotic. He wondered if he could even last long enough to make this good for Louis.  It seemed impossible since certain parts of his body were already prepared to celebrate his win.

“Please, what?” He managed to ask anyway. “What do you want?”

Louis’ eyes squeezed shut on a filthy moan with his head tilted back against the wall. He looked completely debauched already and Harry had barely touched him yet. He wanted so much more with him. How could he possibly decide where to put his hands first when _everywhere_ kept echoing in his mind?  How was this even happening? His heart was tripping in circles, his breath caught in his throat, as he collected himself to speak again.

“Tell me,” he whispered against the skin by Louis’ ear, relishing the shiver that ripped through him in response.

“But...I didn't?  You won the bet,” Louis looked so confused.

“Oh, trust me,” he grinned wolf-like. “I intend to cash in.  But right now? I need you to tell me what you want. Enough of the games, Lou.” He leveled his eyes, imploring him to understand how serious he was. He'd had quite enough of their games now. It was time for them to call this what it really was. To admit that the two of them were ‘together’, hopefully starting a relationship that entailed a whole lot more than friendship. Harry wanted Louis and he knew it was mutual. They'd discussed it in a roundabout way so Harry _knew_ , but he needed to hear it now. “Tell me.”

Even the bob of Louis’ throat when he swallowed made Harry crazy. He held his breath as he waited.

“I want your mouth. Want you.”

“You can have me,” he exhaled as he dropped to his knees before Louis.

“Fuck,” a gasp from above him sounded. Hooking his fingers into the waistband of Louis’ trunks, he peered up at him for one last nod of consent before shoving them to the ground unceremoniously.

Louis seemed conflicted about what to do with his head.  He kept dropping it back against the wall with his eyes squeezed shut before lifting it up again and opening them to watch Harry.  His body vibrated with need, driven by desire. Desperate to see everything, and honestly? Harry wasn’t better off.

Gripping the base of Louis’ cock firmly in his hand, he looked up at him as he told him. “You're so fucking perfect for me.”  He truly was. “So thick,” he squeezed him. “Long,” he licked a broad stripe up the length. “Hot,” he closed his mouth around Louis’ tip and gently sucked before pulling off again to meet his eyes. “Mmm. And you taste good, too.”

Louis’ eyes rolled back in his head and for a few long moments after that, there were no more words.  Harry's lips were otherwise occupied.  They wrapped around Louis’ tip, his tongue lapping up the precome that had gathered there.  “God, Harry. Mouth. Hot,” Louis incoherently babbled above him as he swallowed him halfway down in one quick movement. He relished the feeling of his lips being stretched around Louis’ girth, loving the way his mouth felt so full. The moans that filled the space around them went straight to his own cock and he had to reach his hand down to relieve some of the pressure.

Dragging his lips back up to the top, he dribbled some spit out to ease the way, and then swallowed him back down even further the second time. The sounds Louis was making were going to probably end him, but he couldn't think of a better way to go.

Releasing his other hand from his own dick, he used it to massage Louis’ balls while continuing to take even Louis deeper.  A litany of, “Harry. Hazza. Curly. Fuck,” echoed throughout the small space, bouncing off the walls and fueling him further. Finally, Harry’s nose nuzzled into Louis’ groin, having succeeded at taking him all the way down.  

Not having a gag reflex was a true blessing and Louis apparently agreed. He seemed to be just barely restraining himself from thrusting further into Harry's mouth.  And Harry wanted him to, he really did. But even he could admit that this might not be the right time for that. Louis seemed to understand, his fists gripping the back of Harry's hair instead while he shoved the other into his own mouth to prevent himself from screaming out loud. It was still the middle of the day. No sense risking being overheard by any little ears that happened to be lurking about. There wasn't even a lock on the door and being caught could potentially be a true disaster.

Harry looked forward to a time when they could be as loud as they wanted without the risk of being found by Louis’ sisters. He wanted to hear all of his noises. For today, though, he doubled his sucking efforts and delighted at the gasps of breath and full-body shivers coming from the beautiful boy above him.

“Harry...Can't. I'm...Hazza.”  Louis sounded desperate and his hips started to move erratically. Harry knew it wouldn't be much longer now.

Popping off the top, he peered at Louis from underneath his eyelashes. “Want you to come on my face,” he instructed him, leaving no room for discussion. Louis’ hand released Harry's hair and his arm crossed over his face as he whimpered.  

No doubt he was trying to hide the fact that he was overwhelmed, and Harry refused to allow that. If he couldn't have Louis’ noises, Harry felt he should at least be able to watch him when he came undone. “Please, Lou?  Wanna see you?” He asked in a completely wrecked voice.  Louis heard him and it must've worked because he lowered his arm.

When Harry took him back down, Louis lowered his hand to Harry's cheek and pressed down lightly.  Louis watched with rapt fascination as he felt himself moving inside of Harry's mouth. Their eyes remained fixed to one another's the entire time and Harry felt like he might actually come from this alone. Untouched.  This was hands down the most intense blowie Harry had ever partaken in, regardless of the fact that no one had actually touched his cock.  

It obviously affected Louis equally, if not more. When he tapped Harry's cheek three times sputtering, “Fuck, Harry, yes,” Harry pulled off of him and eagerly held his tongue out under his tip. Not even a second later, ropes of white came spurting out, hitting his tongue first, then his cheeks and even his eyelashes.  Louis’ whole body shook through his release until the very end, at which point he melted down the wall into an open-legged seated position.

As soon as Louis hit the ground, Harry moved into a position mirroring him directly beside him, against the wall.  Together, they exhaled choppy breath, neither one of them capable of speaking just yet. Harry shoved his own shorts down far enough to get a hand around himself. He couldn't have stroked himself more than three times before creamy white come spilled over his fingertips as well.

“Jesus Christ,” Louis’ fucked out voice sounded beside him. Before Harry could reply (and he agreed, for the record), Louis had moved in front of him and was leaning forward.

Very gently, he wiped the come from Harry's eyelashes before holding his finger towards him. Harry didn't hesitate before sucking it straight into his mouth, keeping green eyes locked to blue.

“Worth it,” Louis mumbled before leaning back in to lick the rest of Harry's face clean.

“What?” Harry thought he asked, although he wasn't quite sure.  At the moment his brain felt a bit fuzzy. It grew even fuzzier when Louis reached for his hand and proceeded to lick that clean as well.

“Mmm,” he hummed around it. And that pretty much made it official. That was how Harry was going to die. Right here in the pool house.

“Lou,” he choked out helplessly.  Louis’ lips were wet and sticky when he pressed them against Harry's a moment later. When Harry groaned into his mouth, Louis took his opportunity and pushed his tongue inside.  A mixture of both of their come flooded Harry's mouth and it was strangely one of the hottest things he'd ever experienced. Somehow, everything with Louis was hotter, better and _more._

Louis was practically in Harry's lap again and Harry's cock instantly started fattening up with interest again.  Apparently, he had a thing for Louis sitting on him; he simply couldn't get enough of him.

“You drive me crazy.  You know that, right?” Louis whispered in between kisses.

“S’ mutual,” Harry leaned forward again, anxious for more lip action.

“Worth it, though,” Louis repeated the same phrase he'd said before, but Harry wasn't sure what he was referring to.

“What was?” Harry asked into his mouth, reluctant to give up their connection.

“Losing the bet.” Louis’ eyes were really blue this close up. Even in the dim light of the pool house, they sparkled and Harry wondered if maybe they just appeared brighter when he was happy. It's seemed that way. “Worth it,” he pressed a soft kiss beside Harry's ear.

His heart was fluttering with butterflies and Harry could do nothing but smile stupidly in response. He was so ridiculously happy that it felt as though his face might split in two.

“I still hate your shorts,” Louis tacked on for good measure. And that set the two of them off, laughing loudly at the ridiculous lengths they'd both gone to in order to have a leg up over the other.

It seemed so silly now looking back. Because it was clear that they'd both tried to hold themselves back somewhat. Whether a stubborn sense of pride or a thinly veiled cloak of insecurity, they'd both taken measures to protect their hearts from one another. And yet, despite these efforts, basically wound up at the same place in the end. Harry was half in love with this boy already.  Since Louis had willingly lost a bet to him, Harry suspected the feeling was mutual, just as their attraction to one another had been. From the way they were both grinning happily at one another, it seemed highly plausible. He wouldn't push right now because it was no longer necessary. Harry knew and for right now that was enough. The words could come later, when they were both ready.

“Hey Curly?” Louis broke the happy bubble first.

“Yeah?”

“You think Liam would let us take those quads out again?” His eyes were sparkling at him again. Tiny flecks of green and gold dotted across the blue, swirling together like the colors of a summer’s day by the water. He'd honestly, never seen another person quite so beautiful. _Yeah,_ Harry thought, _I might actually be more than halfway in love._

 

_~L~_

 

“Have a nice time on your date, boys!” Jay smiled at them broadly.

Louis could feel Harry's eyes burning a hole into him from behind.  He didn't even have to look back to know for sure. Although Harry hadn’t been the one distressed over the two of them dating, they hadn’t had the chance to discuss this again.  Not since things between them started changing, anyway. And while Harry probably wouldn’t mind, Louis felt they should probably have a conversation before unleashing themselves on the happy chaos that was his family.

“Mum…” he said softly, motioning towards the girls discreetly. Good on her for figuring it out, but did she really need to go and announce it to his sisters?  Surely that was unnecessary.  And the way she was beaming at him right now?  Also no.  Honestly, his mum had no shame.  “We’re not...we’re going riding is all…”

“Oh don't worry, honey. The girls already know about you two,” she continued smiling as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb.  Harry started coughing uncontrollably behind him and Louis wanted to disappear into the floor.

“What?” His voice sounded weak, even to him.

“We saw you kissing in the pool,” Daisy chimed in happily.

“We didnts not.  Dids not,” Louis tripped over his words as he gave what was quite possibly the least believable denial in the history of denials. The coughing behind him grew louder, but there was no way Louis could risk looking at Harry now. He needed to focus on this quickly deteriorating situation.

“How about the hot tub the other night?  You two are _not_ quiet, in case you didn't know,” Fizzy threw out without even glancing up from the show she was watching.   _Dying_. Louis was dying. Was no one concerned about his lack of breathing?  With bugged out eyes, he searched frantically around himself, checking on everyone's reactions.

“Please, Lou.” Lottie rolled her eyes.  “You guys have been eye-fucking one another for weeks now.” Louis was pretty sure Harry was choking now in an effort to stop himself from laughing. That made one of them because Louis felt like he was being attacked from every direction.

“Language Charlotte!” Jay scolded as Louis narrowed his eyes at Lottie.

“Well they were,” she huffed out with her arms folded across her chest.  She met his glare of her own. “You're not subtle either.”

“Well okay, that's true,” Jay answered her while simultaneously shutting down his poor attempt of a denial. “But you still need to mind your language around your sisters.  Honestly Lottie, what am I even going to do with you?”  Louis could truly not believe his life right now because his own mother was biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing. Once again, he wished the floorboards would swallow him whole.

“Well _I_ think Harry and Louis are sweet together,” Phoebe argued. “I mean, Harry baked Louis cakes, you guys. _Chocolate cakes_.”

“What's this I hear about cake?” Dan strolled leisurely into the kitchen.  “Oh, good. Harry's here. So where's this famous cake I’ve been hearing about?” He searched the room and of course found none. “Don't tell me you all finished it again before I got a chance to try it?”  The fact that the only thing Dan seemed to care about was his own lack of cake instantly rocketed him to Louis’ favorite member of the family.  He'd have to make sure Dan received the best Christmas gift this year.  The girls were on track to receive a bag of coal each.  Phoebe might be the only one exempt. The rest of them, though?  Coal city.

“I could, like, bake you your own cake if you wanted, Dan?  That way you’d be sure to get some?”  Harry’s deep voice finally chimed in.  And Louis couldn't help the smile that rounded his cheeks. He was beyond endeared with a curly-haired pool boy who wanted nothing more than to please people with delicious baked goods.  

This day had been a roller coaster of emotions for him, though. His head was spinning in an attempt to process it all, from yellow shorts, yoga and a banana to the most amazing mouth he'd ever known. Top all of that off with his entire family already knowing about them?  And yeah, it was a lot.  

So now, all he really wanted to do, was grab Harry's hand in a mad dash for the door.  They could escape his overwhelming family, head over to Liam’s place and go riding.  Maybe once the wind was rushing through his hair again, it would clear out all of this other noise. Of course, instead of doing that, he found himself opening his big stupid mouth again.

“Better make sure you request a full-sized cake, Dan.  Because Harry specializes in Easy-Bake oven sized treats.  He’ll give you just enough to tease, but not enough to leave you fully satisfied.” The minute the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself.  There was really no excuse for him to revert back to sarcasm or thinly veiled innuendo.  Although perhaps he'd subconsciously wanted to distract the attention away from himself. He expected a _“Heyyyy”_ from him or possibly a petulant glare, but instead, Harry burst into loud barks of laughter as if Louis were the funniest person he’d ever known.  And it hadn’t even been that funny.  Regardless, his laughter was infectious and pretty soon the two of them were howling for no reason at all, clutching their bellies while his entire family watched them with fond, but confused expressions.

It took a little time before they regained their composure. And when they finally did, Daisy was the first to speak up. She walked straight up to Harry and peered up at him innocently, just like Louis had taught her.  Working the Tomlinson charm. He had a brief surge of pride. “Harry?  I don't mind if you're Louis’ boyfriend now, but will you still sometimes let me and Phoebe braid your hair?  And play with us in the pool maybe?”  

The question was so genuine and pure that it made Louis’ heart ache. But also, _boyfriend?_  How had one of his youngest sisters let that term roll off her lips so easily when it had taken him so long to admit that's where this was headed?  Just the sound of that word was doing strange things to him. He liked it. He liked it a lot.

Looking over at Harry, he found him in a similar state. His eyes were shining brightly as he nodded. “Of course, Daisy. You know how much I love spending time with you girls. That won't ever change,” he assured her. “Promise.”  Harry immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a tight hug.

Louis decided that he might as well settle the rest of his family's unspoken questions once and for all. “You know there's no reason why we can't all spend time together. What do you think, girls? Maybe the next time we have a Tomlinson footie match Harry would want to join us.  Would you like that?”

A chorus of “yes” sounded noisily around him, with fights already breaking out over which team Harry was gonna play on.  As his sisters argued, he looked over at Harry and found his gaze already fixed upon him. His cheeks were tinted pink, his green eyes glowed, and his dimples were popped out. Louis thought he'd never seen so much pretty in all his life. “Well?” He nudged him quietly.

“Yeah. I'd like that, Lou. I'd like that very much actually,” Harry told him softly.

“Good,” Louis told him. Without further thought, he extended his hand to him. Harry looked awestruck, like he couldn't believe Louis was actually reaching for him. He grabbed on without hesitation, though, and promptly linked their fingers together. Louis swore he could feel each beat of his heart as it pounded in his chest. “Okay great, it's settled then; Harry will play in our next game.”  He took a big breath in before continuing.  “But I'll have you crazy lot know that my _boyfriend_ will be playing on _my_ team. The Dream Team can't be separated.”

The look of wonder on Harry's face made taking that blind leap of faith well worth it. He was beaming as if Christmas had come in July after all.  Louis was pretty his joy was mirrored in his own happy expression. Not even the disgruntled _“that's unfair”_ and _“you can't have the two oldest together”_ echoing around them could break through the bubble that had suddenly closed in around the two of them. Their eyes remained locked to one another, their smiles seeming as though they'd never fade.

“Right, okay. If you all don't mind, Harry and I actually have a pair of quads waiting for us,” Louis announced to the room. He'd never been more excited to put some space between himself and his family. They meant the world to him, but Louis’ world had just been stretched so much further. It extended to a curly-haired pool boy now. And since they'd pretty much just made it official, he desperately wanted a few minutes or days alone with him to celebrate.

His family may or may not have responded, but Louis would never know. Because he'd finally done what he'd wanted to a few minutes back. He made a dash for the door with Harry's hand clasped tightly inside of his own, the two of them giggling loudly as everyone else faded away.  And the minute the door slammed shut behind them, he pressed Harry against it, kissing him until they were both dizzy.

“Boyfriend?” Harry whispered as he gently trailed a finger down Louis’ cheek. They'd just broken apart to catch their breath.

“Boyfriends.” Louis beamed back at him.

 

_~~~~~_

 

_I would like to extend a huge thank you to both[Lexi ](http://idareyoutotakealook.tumblr.com/)and [Roni](http://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/) for being generally amazing.  I would never have posted any of this without your relentless encouragement.  Thank you so much, I love you both very much a lot <3\. Having said that, any and all mistakes are my own._

_Thank you so much for reading. If you liked it and feel like sharing,[here is a link for the tumblr post](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147552164810/i-hate-your-stupid-yellow-shorts-au-where-louis). Feedback is always appreciated (and often motivates me to write more quickly)._

_The last chapter should be up within a week.  I still expect it to fall roughly around 50k._

_Thank you again for reading.  I hope that you enjoy :D_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is the last chapter!! For everyone who's read and commented so far, thank you so much!! It has meant so much to me. I hope that you enjoy the last chapter :D
> 
> This goes without saying (so let me say it anyway): This is a work of pure fiction. Made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.

 

_~L~_

 

They rode the quads until the threat of running out of petrol became a real possibility. It was exactly what they both needed.  The adrenaline from the ride took the place of the wide array of emotions which had afflicted them throughout the day.

Louis felt a mixture of freedom, happiness and excitement now; everything else was background noise.  Just like before, riding made him feel alive, but this time, it was even better than the last. Doubts no longer plagued his mind, riddling him with ‘what ifs’. Instead, he felt confident and sure of what was happening here. They were falling in love. The truth is that they'd probably been heading that way for a while now.

They both yelled into the trees with wild abandonment on the way back to Liam’s, not a single care in the world. Louis couldn't remember the last time he felt this carefree and _happy_.  He wanted to box these feelings up and keep them forever.

When the quads were safely stored away, Louis looked over at Harry and found him worrying his lip between his teeth anxiously. He couldn't imagine what could've changed in the last few minutes to rob him of his happy smile. What could Harry possibly have to be nervous about when they'd finally put a label on their relationship?  He hoped he wasn't having regrets because they'd basically announced it to the world already (because let's be real: telling his mum basically guaranteed it to be widespread).

He hated when Harry bit his lip because he didn't like seeing him anxious, but also because it made him jealous. Jealous that he wasn't the one doing the biting, that is. A bit ridiculous?  Yes. Yes, it was.

So Louis leaned in and pulled his lip free from his offensive teeth. “What’s wrong, Curly?  Whatcha thinking about?” he asked.

Harry met his eyes and swallowed thickly before speaking. “Want you to fuck me,” he answered simply and just like that Louis’ heart took off at full speed, running the race of a lifetime. _Jesus Christ._  Harry couldn't just say things like that with no warning!  Was he trying to give him a heart attack?  Louis was instantly assaulted with images dreamt up by his overactive imagination. He blinked rapidly in an effort to clear his mind before responding.

“Harry,” he exhaled shakily. “You do remember my family, right?  They're like secret spies or summat.  M’ not sure if you picked up on this earlier today, but I've got very little privacy back home. I'd estimate roughly zero percent.” He frowned as he tried to think of another solution because despite this one small hang up, he was fully onboard with Harry's plan. In fact, he had a semi from the mere suggestion of being inside of him.

“Maybe we could stay here?” Harry asked hopefully.

Louis’ brows furrowed while his eyes took careful inventory of the dark, smelly storage shed they were standing in. “Not exactly how I pictured our first time if I'm honest.”

“Not _here,_ Lou. I meant inside Liam’s house. His family's away on holiday, but I have a key.”  And yes, that did actually sound like a much better alternative.

“Are you sure he won't mind?”

A loud bark of laughter erupted from Harry. Louis loved when he laughed like that, so free and happy. He seemed completely uninhibited in the moment and it was absolutely beautiful. “Wasn't planning on asking his permission first, Lou. Didn't you hear me?   _I have a key. To an empty house,_ ” Harry's eyebrows lifted up in question.

It might've taken him a few extra seconds to understand, but once it clicked, Louis didn't need to be asked twice. “Do you have anything?” he asked because he hadn't brought anything with him. Of course he hadn't because Louis never even considered this a remote possibility today. Harry, on the other hand, must’ve planned for this because he nodded his head in the affirmative. He had condoms, lube and a key to an empty house. Was he an actual Boy Scout?  Louis didn't know, but he thought he might be a little in love with him for it anyway.

 

_~H~_

 

He had leaves in his hair. Louis had leaves in his hair, it was sticking up in at least five directions and Harry still thought that he was the most beautiful boy in the world.

Louis called him his boyfriend in front of his whole family.  He’d actually done that!  And they’d held hands! They were boyfriends who held hands!  It was hard for Harry to believe that this was real life.  His heart was probably going to explode any minute now from the sheer thrill of it all.

“I mean, I guess he's okay,” Louis sounded irritated while leaning in a little closer to look at a picture of Liam on the mantle. “He's really muscular. If that's the kind of thing you're into of course.”  

His arms were folded defiantly across his chest and Harry had to bite his lip to stifle his laughter.  Apparently his boyfriend had a bit of a jealous streak. It probably shouldn't have made him this happy, because jealousy isn't exactly a redeeming quality, but Harry couldn't help getting a bit high from it anyway. There was something inherently sexy about feeling wanted by the person you desired most. Plus, he tended to be a bit possessive himself when it came to Louis. It wasn’t that long ago that Harry considered stamping ‘mine’ all over Louis to ward off any cute boys that might take a liking to him. And at the time, they technically weren’t even together.  

So, yeah, it's fair to say that Harry understood exactly where he was coming from.

Having said that, he didn't want Louis to have any doubts about him either. They were completely unfounded and pointless because Harry was one hundred percent gone for him. He'd literally just asked Louis to fuck him a few short minutes ago. Surely, he hadn't forgotten already?

“Like a brother, Lou, remember?  It was ages ago and it was only one kiss,” Harry reassured him. “Anyway, Liam’s got nothing on you, so you’ve no reason to be worried.”  The rosy tint that colored Louis’ cheeks shouldn't have made his heart skip a beat, but it did anyway.

“Wasn't worried,” he insisted, sounding very much like someone who'd been caught worrying.

Harry bit his lip again to disguise his amusement. “Of course not. I know that. I just wanted to make sure you knew that Liam has only ever been one of my best friends. Because, like, you'll probably meet him eventually. Wouldn't want there to be any awkward tension between you two.”

“Harry, please. I'm fine. It's fine. I'm sure Liam's a lovely lad,” he smiled back at him, but it wasn't a real one. It wasn't the kind which made his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Okay, good,” Harry replied, though fully unconvinced. Time for him to change the subject. Reaching over to Louis, he plucked a leaf out of his hair and held it out for him to see with a broad smile. “Fancy taking a shower with me?”

Ahhh. There it was. _His_ smile. It seemed that was a good idea, after all.

 

_~L~_

 

Water cascaded down the front of him, trickling over each one of his abs and streaming down his cut v-line.  His head was tilted backwards under the spray and Louis was having flashbacks to the times he'd watched Harry under the waterfall. This time was so much better than the last, though, because unlike before, Harry was standing less than a foot in front of him.  Louis was allowed to actually reach out and touch him now. So he did.

The first thing he did was to gently rub the pads of his fingertips over Harry's nipples. Ever since Louis had met him, Harry's nips had almost always been hard.  They practically begged to be touched so it’s not like he really had a choice. He felt them stiffen even further under his ministrations and heard Harry gasp.  Apparently his nipples were sensitive, good to know. Louis filed that information away for later, eager to continue exploring.

Brushing his fingers lower, he kept his touch light while trailing them over Harry's abs, one by one. Louis could feel his muscles twitching as his fingers dragged softly over top of them. It made him feel powerful. He absolutely loved how responsive his boy was. It made him think about what other reactions he might be able to draw from him. Excited was an understatement.

There was no need for him to look down in order to know that Harry was fully hard because Louis could feel Harry’s dick poking him in the belly. He was in a similar state himself, but determined to avoid both of their cocks for the time being. Anticipation would make for better orgasms later, he reasoned. Plus, he preferred to use this time to learn more about Harry's body.

He kept his touch soft and slow, enjoying the occasional gasps and shivers that rippled through Harry whenever he managed to find one of his sensitive spots. His jawline was probably his biggest one followed closely by his nipples, but there were many other treasured places in addition to those two. Louis ran his fingers and hands over almost every bit of him in search of them.  Meanwhile, Harry's body responded in kind, continuously vibrating from his attentions. It was an incredible turn on.

The glass that surrounded them was completely fogged up from the hot water, creating a bit of a bubble effect. It felt as if the two of them were enclosed in a special space in time, which probably wasn't far from the truth.  Being here with Harry felt incredibly important to him. It was special. Louis wanted nothing more than to lean in to capture Harry's plush lips, but he knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to stop.  So he reluctantly forced himself to wait a little longer.  

“Can I wash your hair?” Louis asked him.

“Please,” Harry spun around to grab the bottle from the ledge. He flashed Louis a dimpled smile over his shoulder before handing it to him and tilted his head back. Louis squeezed some apple-scented shampoo into his palm and began to massage his fingers into Harry's scalp.

“Mmmm my god, so good,” Harry moaned shamelessly. Louis could feel himself growing harder with each one of Harry's obscene sounds. If his boy was this responsive to having his hair washed, Louis wondered what would happen when he finally pressed inside Harry’s body. That thought almost made his brain short circuit. The two of them were going to be amazing together. He could feel it in his bones.

 

_~H~_

 

Sensory overload. Harry was pretty sure that's what they called it. That's how he’d felt throughout their entire shower. He still felt that way now, wrapped in a towel with his hand enclosed in Louis’. Without question, Harry followed him as he led them towards Liam’s bedroom. Their shower had been his most intimate experience to date and they hadn't even kissed. His skin still tingled in all the places where Louis’ fingers had touched him, which come to think of it, was pretty much everywhere.

Once inside the room, Louis led them over to the bed and sat them both down facing one another. And Harry couldn’t help it.  He felt as if he'd been kept on edge for ages and he didn't want to wait any longer. “Kiss me,” he half demanded, half begged, needing to be connected to Louis somehow.

Thank god Louis didn't deny him because Harry didn't think he could've handled that in his current condition. He crawled into Harry’s lap happily and pressed their lips together. They skipped right past chaste, allowing their tongues to swirl together in a provocative dance. They kissed until they needed to breathe again and then they kissed some more.  It was electric, just like it always was, but Louis kept his hands on Harry's neck the entire time instead of taking things any further.  And Harry was more than a little ready to take things further. He'd been hard since they decided that this was a good idea back in the dark and dingy shed. The shower hadn’t done anything to change that.  If anything, he was worse off than before.

“Lou…”  It sounded pitiful even to him, but Harry felt desperate. He needed Louis to stop with the teasing and get back to the touching.

“What do you like?” Louis breathed out against his lips.

“You. I like you. Want you to touch me,” Harry answered.

He could feel Louis’ smile against his lips. “Oh trust me, I'm going to, Curly,” he tangled his fingers into Harry's hair. “But what I meant is _how_ do you like it?”

Harry could feel his cheeks heating up and he wasn't sure why. There was nothing for him to be embarrassed about; this was Louis.  “I like everything,” he answered.  “Want everything with you. But maybe just for this time...I kind of…I think I need to see your face.”

“Okay,” Louis reassured him before kissing him again. Then he sat back and reached for his hand, pulling them both up off of the bed. Their towels were quickly thrown to the floor, leaving them both gloriously naked again. With that taken care of, Louis led them back to the bed and repositioned them so that Harry laid on his back with his head up by the headboard. Louis laid down beside him, propping himself up on one of his arms. He looked down at Harry with stars shining in his eyes. “You're so beautiful, Hazza. The prettiest boy I've ever known.”

Harry could feel his cheeks growing warm again, but this time it was because of the happiness bubbling up inside of him. How did he ever get this lucky? He might never know. “M’ not. You're the most beautiful,” he reached out and ran a finger down his cheek. The stars in Louis’ eyes seemed to shine even more brightly now.

“M’ gonna make this so good for you, Haz,” Louis reached over to Liam's nightstand, where they'd set the condoms and lube before their shower.

“I know,” he replied simply. Because he did. If there's one thing Harry was sure of, it was the fact that the two of them were good together. Practically electric. There was never any doubt this would be amazing. Hell, it already was and they’d barely gotten started.

Leaning down over top of him, Louis pressed his lips to Harry's before proceeding to worship the rest of his body like a temple. He mapped him out with his lips, tongue and fingers until Harry was a trembling mess beneath him. This was so much better than the ‘good’ which Louis had promised. He'd never had sex with so much feeling before.  At some point Harry tried to stop him, by insisting that he wanted to touch Louis too. It wasn't right for him to be the only one feeling this good.

“You will, love. You'll get your turn.”  And Harry couldn't even speak anymore because he understood exactly what Louis was saying, and the actual thought of being inside of Louis was far more than Harry could bear right now.  So he just smiled and let Louis get back to what he'd started.

After kissing Harry's body all over and basically lighting him on fire, Louis looked up at him from between his legs. “Gonna open you up now, love.” Louis’ eyes were completely blown out as if Harry had been the one working him over the whole time. If Harry wasn't already burning, he would be now because Louis had finally called him ‘love’. Overwhelmed, he nodded his head in agreement. That was all he could manage, though.

Harry watched as Louis carefully bent his leg up and over, giving himself better access.  A part of him felt exposed, but a bigger part of him wanted Louis to push a finger inside and to stop fucking teasing him. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long before a slick finger rubbed over his hole.

Louis massaged his rim for a little while before pressing his thumb against the bottom edge to stretch him. When he lowered his face and blew hot air over the spot where his thumb rested, Harry's hips jerked up in response.

“Relax, babe. Told you I‘m gonna take care of you.”

“I know. Just...feels...good.” Harry's voice betrayed him.  He sounded completely fucked out already.

“Good. Want you to feel good,” Louis answered before lowering his head to take the tip of Harry's cock into his mouth.  And that's when Harry's vision temporarily whited out. Although that might have also been because of the slick finger that had finally pushed inside of him. Either way, Harry wanted more immediately. He pushed himself down onto Louis’ finger greedily.

“Yes. Yes, Lou. Fuck yes. Want another. Nother finger.” He was babbling and he couldn't be arsed to care. This felt amazing.

Louis popped off his cock and looked him straight in the eye. “Are you sure?  You're tight, Haz. Don't wanna hurt you.”

Harry pushed down as hard as he could from his current position. “M’ sure. Another.”  Louis swallowed Harry's cock down as far as he could before pulling his finger out.

“Nghnn no,” Harry lamented the missing finger, but not for long because Louis quickly pushed back inside of him with two slick fingers.

“Fuck Harry. So hot. Jesus fuck. You should see yourself stretched around my fingers. Can't wait until you're stretched around my cock.” Louis alternated pumping, scissoring and curling them inside of him and Harry felt like he might be able to come from this alone.

“Please Lou. M’ close. Wanna come on your cock.”

Louis’ face looked every bit as wrecked as Harry felt when he pushed three fingers inside. “Need to finish prepping you.”

A loud whine escaped his throat in protest. Harry was ready. He knew he was. When Louis finally ripped open the condom wrapper, he honestly could've cried with relief.  After liberally slicking his cock up and holding himself in position to push in, Louis paused. “Look at me.”

As if he could've looked away. As if he'd ever been able to look away from him. Dark, stormy blue eyes held his gaze steadily as Louis began pressing forward. There was a bit of pressure when the head pushed inside, but it was on the tolerable side of painful. Louis paused for a few seconds, allowing them both time to adjust, and then pushed the rest of the way in with one slow thrust.

Harry lifted his hips to meet him while keening from the overpowering feeling of finally being connected to him that way. A litany of thoughts assaulted him one after the other. _Yes. So good. Amazing. Love. Love him. God yes._

“Jesus Christ,” Louis exhaled as he pulled all the way out. Harry whimpered out loud, hating the empty feeling left behind when he'd just been so deliciously full. Louis pushed right back inside, though, using shallow thrusts along with an occasional swivel of his hip to push himself deeper and deeper each time. As Louis drove them closer and closer towards the edge, Harry was reduced to making sounds he’d never made before. Pulling out once again, Louis moved them into a better position by lifting Harry’s legs up slightly and pushing his knees back.  It didn’t take him long to find his prostate after that and when he did, Harry lost his mind completely.

“Ahhhhh. _Fuck_. So good. Fuck, Lou. Do that again.  Fuckkkkk.”  His hands immediately reached for Louis’ arse which he grabbed with greedy hands, pulling him even deeper into his body.  Louis’ cock bumped against his prostate over and over and over again, leaving Harry so overstimulated that his eyes couldn't even focus anymore.

Tiny bursts of light exploded behind his eyelids when he squeezed them shut to try and calm his racing mind. Nothing had ever felt like this before.  Nothing.  The way their bodies moved together was like a dream.  A well rehearsed dance which left Harry babbling incoherently as his head rolled from side to side in complete bliss.  Although he tried to keep his eyes closed, he couldn’t.  The need to see Louis was too intense.  So he opened them again, looking first towards the place the two of them were connected and then back up to Louis’ face.

In contrast, Louis’ eyes remained pinned to him the entire time.  Harry suspected it was because he'd expressed a need to see him and honestly, that was more than okay with him because it made him feel grounded and safe.  “Tell me when you’re close,” Louis instructed, his words choppy from labored breathing.

“M’ close,” Harry instantly choked out.  He’d been close for a while now, but had been determined to make this last longer.  He wanted this to be just as good for Louis, though Harry wouldn't be able stretch this much further no matter how much he may want to.  Pressure was building up behind his balls and a steady stream of pre-come was leaking from the tip of his cock to his belly. He wasn't gonna last long at all, actually.

Louis wrapped one of his hands around Harry's cock while continuing to hold his eyes captive. “Come whenever you're ready,” he ordered and that’s all it took. Louis never even got a chance to move his hand because the second those words were spoken, Harry's back arched off of the mattress.  Stream after stream of creamy white come shot out from his dick, painting his own belly and even going so far as to catch him on the chin.

“Oh my god. Fuck,” Louis exclaimed as Harry's body squeezed tightly around him. Louis froze when his cock started pulsing inside of him not five seconds later.  Harry could feel the heat from Louis’ release through the condom and a few more small drops spurted from his own dick in response.

As soon as Louis finished, he collapsed on top of Harry and they both lay there quietly for a few minutes, their heavy breathing the only sound filling the room.  Harry was the first to break the silence. “You're...that was amazing.”  It was quite possible that Louis had effectively ruined him for anyone else ever again.

He could feel Louis' smile against his chest. “You are,” the muffled reply vibrated against his skin. He pulled out of Harry slowly, tied the condom off and dropped it to the ground. “Think we might need another shower.”

“Mmm,” Harry hummed in agreement, too exhausted for a proper reply.

They laid there for a while longer before Louis spoke again. “When does Liam's family come back?”

“Not for a few more days, I think. Why?” He could feel his cheeks pushing up into a smile before Louis even responded.

“Well,” Louis leaned up and began pressing soft kisses against his neck. “I wouldn't mind taking the quads out again before he gets back.”

“Oh,” Harry replied. That wasn't what he expected to hear, but it was fine. After all, it wasn't as if Harry disliked riding with him.  Far from. “Sure we can. We just need to go and fill up on petrol first.”

“Okay. But also, you didn't let me finish…was gonna say I wouldn't mind defiling his bed one more time.”  Harry's ears perked up with interest. “If you wanted to _take your turn_? You know, like we talked about earlier?”

“Fuck yeah. Want that,” Harry interjected quickly, before Louis could finish speaking. “Want that more than anything.”  He immediately leaned up to capture Louis’ lips between his.

Louis’ answering laugh into his mouth sounded like music to him. “Calm down, Curly. Think we could both do with some recovery time first.  But after that, yeah?” His eyes were twinkling back at him.

Harry hoped that ‘after’ wasn't too far from now because his ears weren't the only things that had perked up with interest.  He was truly amazed at the fact that his body was able to recover so soon, but then again?  The thought of taking control?  Of being inside Louis? Well it was inspiring to say the least.  The fact that he was still exhausted from being fucked so well didn't even register anymore. His mind took off on a tangent of _Louis Louis Louis_ with the leading thought being _I'm going to be inside of him._

 

_~L~_

 

‘ _After’._ That's what he'd said. His words. He hadn't specified a particular amount of time, just ‘ _after they recovered’_.  Which is why he shouldn't have been so surprised to find himself at Harry's mercy with his hands pinned to Liam's bed less than thirty minutes later.

At least they'd had the decency to clean themselves off with a flannel first. They'd also snuck some biscuits from the cupboard which they scarfed down with mugs of water for _‘proper hydration and energy’_. Harry's words, of course. Of course, Harry also insisted that they needed to come back to replace the missing biscuits before Liam's family returned. Louis couldn't even handle the amount of fond he felt for this ridiculous boy.

That very same endearing boy was also the one who decided that their self-imposed break from marathon sex ended _‘after’_ the aforementioned biscuits. Before Louis had a chance to respond, he found himself with a lap full of a very naked Harry eagerly pressing their lips together. (It should also be noted that the reason they were sitting in Liam's kitchen naked in the first place was because according to Harry _‘it’s silly to waste time putting on clothes when we're only gonna take them right back off again’_.)

Come to think of it, Louis really wasn't surprised about his current position at all.  He smiled up at Harry who was hovering over top of him wearing a big dimpled smile of his own. “S’ my turn now, right?”

“Harold, I'm literally pinned to the bed underneath of you. What do you think?”

He giggled out loud and once again, Louis felt attacked by a terrible case of the fond. He'd never laughed with anyone during sex before and it felt amazing. Though, to be fair, everything with Harry had felt incredible. Especially the kissing. He'd never kissed so much in his entire life. Speaking of which, Harry bent down to place a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth before mouthing over to his neck and sucking hard.

“Lou?” He whispered against his neck.

“Yes, Harold?” He whispered back dramatically.

More giggles were swallowed up by his neck before Harry spoke again. “Could you?  Do you think?  Would you be okay turning over?” Harry lifted his head to search Louis’ face.

Louis swallowed thickly as he stared back up at him. He should've expected this. It wasn't like he hadn't noticed the fact that Harry was an arse man.  And not to be conceited or anything, but Louis had a rather nice arse.  Listen, he'd been told this a time or two, it's not like he was grading himself or summat.

He shouldn't have been anxious, but Louis hadn't bottomed in a while.  Truth be told, he'd only done so one other time and that was ages ago. At least two years, he reckoned. There was a lot of trust required for him to feel comfortable to give himself to someone that way. And there hadn't been too many people that he'd trusted, so.

But this was Harry. _His Harry._ And Louis trusted him.  They may not have actually known one another very long, but it felt as if they’d known one another forever.  And Louis knew without a doubt that Harry was trustworthy.  “Yeah,” he heard himself say. The smile that lit up Harry's face afterwards made it so worthwhile.

“M’ gonna take such good care of you,” Harry promised him with reverence. And Louis believed him. So when he sat up to allow space for Louis to flip over, he did.

Grabbing a pillow, he rested his head on it and tucked his arms underneath, relaxing as best he could. Glancing backwards, he shot a cheeky wink in Harry's direction. “Do your best, Curly.”

Harry bent down and bit his shoulder gently before whispering in his ear, “I plan to.”  A shiver ran through him and he squeezed his eyes closed, in an effort to keep his breathing steady.  

 

_~~~~~_

 

His mouth had to be illegal.  There was really no other explanation for it.  Someone should probably arrest him, but not until later of course. They were a bit busy at the moment.

Louis’ entire body was shaking with the anticipation of where Harry would touch him next.  Using a combination of tongue, teeth and fingers, Harry had already reduced him to a disheveled mess of a human.

Honest to god, who the hell kissed ankles?  Or licked into the sensitive spots behind knees? Did he mention the bite marks that probably definitely littered the back of his thighs? Or the time that Harry had spent worshipping the bottom of his spine?  He'd left next to nothing untouched. _Next to nothing_ because strangely enough, he'd avoided the one spot that Louis knew he liked best.

With the exception of the occasional brush of a hand over Louis’ bum, Harry had circled past it during his explorations. Instead, he'd paid fanatical attention to the rest of his backside. His tongue had traveled across the span of his shoulder blades.  Open mouthed kisses, kitten licks and broad stripes had covered his body.  Every so often, Harry stopped to blow cool air across a spot he'd licked, watching as Louis’ skin erupted in goosebumps.

Harry had also worked him to full relaxation. His fingers had dug deeply into Louis’ muscles and massaged them until he felt loose enough to actually melt into the mattress.  It turned out that Louis found massage to be quite sensual. He was currently fully hard and one second away from grinding shamelessly into the mattress in pursuit of his own relief.

What he really needed was for Harry to stop torturing him.  Any previous reservations of his had faded away in favor of arousal so Harry needed to stop fucking teasing him already and touch his arse. Kiss it, lick it, bite it, he didn't care, so long as he paid it some proper attention. He'd come close a short while ago when he bit the back of his thighs right along the crease of his bum, but then he'd backed off once again, leaving Louis to suffer.

Louis pushed his bum backwards a little bit as he moaned, “Harry, please.”

“Please what, baby?” Louis could hear the smile in his tone. Infuriating.

“You know what. Just do it,” he demanded with a huff of air.

“M’ not sure. Is this what you want?” Harry squeezed his cheeks in his hands, massaging him firmly for a few seconds. Louis rutted against the mattress while whimpering pathetically.

“Or maybe this?” He bent over and bit his left arse cheek. This time Louis’ hips jerked up from the mattress with a yelp.

“Ohhh, I think I know what you want, Lou.” His hands gripped his cheeks again, but this time he pulled them apart and blew hot air over his hole.  Louis’ body started shaking again, but he was unsure if it was from frustration or anticipation this time. It was pretty clear where Harry was headed with this and Louis really needed him to just do the thing already.

“Harr-.” He never got to finish.

“Never mind. I know what you need, baby. You're desperate for it.  Look at you pushing back for me.  You love having your arse played with, don't you?”

Louis would have protested the sheer audacity of the curly one. He absolutely would have. But before he could say or do anything, Harry pulled his cheeks apart and flattened his tongue against his hole getting him dripping wet. “Holyshit oh my god holyshit,” he moaned helplessly into the pillow, thanking all the deities for the shower they'd taken earlier, as well as for Harry's tongue. _Jesus Christ, his tongue._

Once Harry finally remembered that Louis had an arse which required attention, he seemed to take the job very seriously. He lifted Louis’ hips up from the mattress and held him in the air easily with his oversized hands, leaving him fully exposed. Both of Harry's thumbs pushed against his rim as he continued to lick broad stripes across his hole, occasionally nipping at the sensitive rim.  He stopped to dribble spit against his inflamed skin and seconds later, the point of his tongue pushed inside of him, just the tiniest bit. Harry continued to apply pressure against his rim with his thumbs, as he massaged, licked and sucked his hole to relax and open him further.

Louis had no idea how long Harry kept this up for, but eventually he felt his tongue push inside again, a little deeper than the first time. There was no time to process the new feeling, because a lube-slicked finger was quickly pressing in, right beside his tongue. Louis cried out and dropped his hips back to the mattress, unable to handle the intensity of it all.  Harry was right there, though, pulling him back up as he continued to work his finger in and out of Louis’ body. “Taste so good, Lou. So fucking hot.” He said just before pushing his tongue back inside.

And Louis was gone. His head thrashed back and forth on the pillow below him, wet tears dripping from his eyes onto the soft cotton. Was he even breathing anymore?  Louis honestly had no idea. He'd never felt so turned on in his life. His entire body hummed with underlying need. Harry pulled his finger out, only to push back inside with two slick fingers this time, alongside his tongue and Louis’ pretty sure he screamed out loud. He couldn't be absolutely sure, but the voice he heard sounded an awful lot like his.

Harry thrust his long, slender fingers in and out with increasing speed, stopping every so often to scissor them wide inside of him. His tongue never left Louis’ body as he worked him open. He could feel Harry’s saliva dripping down the back of his leg, but he didn't care. There was only one thing Louis cared about anymore. And it was basically all he could think about.

“Fuck me, Harry.  Fuck me right now,” he demanded.

Harry pulled his tongue from his arse long enough to answer, “I am.”  His fingers continued to pump in and out while Louis’ eyes rolled back again.

“Not what I meant.” The words stuttered out of him slowly, sounding garbled even to his own ears. “Cock. Want your cock.” He felt Harry push in with three slick fingers as he said the words, scissoring them even wider than before.

And then they were gone. The sound of a condom wrapper tearing might've been the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. Seconds later, Harry dragged his cock over his hole a few times as he passed between his cheeks. But it wasn't enough.  He needed more.

Louis half growled at him, but it died on his tongue when in one swift move, Harry buried himself inside of him. And holy fuck, Louis felt more full than he'd ever imagined possible. It was as if his body was being split in half. “Move,” he choked out breathlessly.

So Harry did. He seemed to understand what Louis needed without him even saying the words. Harry fucked him hard, hips snapping quickly against Louis’ arse. Despite his unrelenting rhythm, Harry was careful with him at the same time. He slowed his movements down a little in order to lift Louis from the mattress and held his back flush against his chest as they moved together. One of Harry's arms crossed securely over Louis’ chest, locking them in place and holding him tightly. The change in their position allowed Harry to hit his prostate repeatedly, sending Louis even further out of his mind.

Lips pressed softly to the back of his neck while Harry's other hand snuck around the front of him, pressing flat against the bottom of his hip. It rested beside his groin, holding him even more securely to Harry's body. It was all-consuming. Every part of him was surrounded by Harry.  An arm across his chest, a hand on his hip, Louis’ back pressed to Harry's front, Harry’s lips kissing along his neck and his cock moving inside of him. It was almost too much, a bit like being possessed. His body was no longer his own because it belonged to Harry now.  And Louis loved it. He loved every second.

“You're...can't believe I get to have you like this. Everything,” Harry's strained words vibrated off the back of his neck.

“Ahhhhh,” Louis moaned back, barely able to speak, with his eyes squeezed shut. “So good. For me.”

“This. Love...this. Hot. Tight. So hot. Want you... come... on my cock.” Harry never stopped thrusting or holding his body tightly to him as he stuttered out the raspy request. His words, hot breath against Louis’ skin, burned in a good way, like the sun warming him from the outside in. Louis couldn't answer because his body was climbing faster, sprinting towards its release. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds later before he seized up, shooting ribbon after ribbon of white come all over the bed below them.

“Ohmygod,” Harry exclaimed behind him, freezing while Louis’ body continued to clench around him. “Jesus Christ.”  He pulled out and ripped the condom off, tossing it down without a care. Harry pushed Louis’ body down gently, ever just slightly.  Louis could feel Harry's release hitting him across his backside, hot and sticky on his skin.

As soon as he finished, Louis collapsed to the bed, boneless. Harry fell half on top of him, half on the mattress and the two of them lay there quietly breathing heavily. The fact that they were both laying in a sticky mess barely phased him as he struggled to catch his breath.

“We're gonna need to clean these sheets.” Harry's deep voice rumbled against his back.

“Nah. They're fine,” Louis couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled up from within. Had it been any of Harry's other friends, he would've actually felt guilty about what they'd done.  This was Liam’s bed, though, so he told himself that it served him right for having the audacity to kiss his boy. So what if it was only a one time thing which Harry had actually been responsible for initiating.  Surely Liam deserved it anyway.

“Lou!” Harry scolded him, clearly unwilling to be deterred from Project Clean.  For the record, Louis would have never actually left Liam's (or anyone's) bed like this, but it had been fun to imagine his disgruntled expression if they had. Why did Harry have to ruin the good time he was having in his head?

Furthermore, how dare he judge Louis!  He refused to be treated like this!  Not by the curly-haired boy that had just taken him apart piece by piece. They were still laying in the aftermath, for crying out loud. This was treacherous behavior and he would deal with it as such.

Harry never saw it coming.  Before he could even blink, Louis smashed him in the face with one of the untarnished pillows. Of course, he had no way of knowing that it would bust, sending a shower of feathers raining down upon them.

This was becoming a bad habit of theirs. It seemed the two of them were always making a mess of things, only to wind up spending twice as long cleaning up after themselves. You would've thought they'd have learned their lesson after the Great Flour Fight, but apparently they hadn't.  As they lay there laughing amidst the fluffy, white, sticky mess, Louis thought that as long as they were in this mess together, there was nothing else he'd rather be doing.

  


_~H~_

 

They didn't leave Liam's until much later that night.  Not until the bedding and towels had been washed, dried and put back in their rightful places. Of course, nothing could be done about the pillow fiasco, so they'd bagged up the evidence and taken it with them instead.

“We’ll come back tomorrow with a replacement pillow and biscuits.” Harry leveled his eyes at Louis to show him that it wasn't up for debate. Louis just laughed happily and linked their fingers together over the console in Harry's car. Hmm. Harry would apparently have to work on his serious face.

“Don't wanna take you home.” Harry knew he was being ridiculous. They'd been spending practically all of their time together these last couple of days. Surely they could survive sleeping alone.

“Do you have that blanket from the ‘day of all things country’ in the boot?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Maybe we could go stargazing again like we did that day?” Louis asked, sounding hopeful.

“Don't you mean ‘stargazing like we did on our first date’?” Harry grinned at him.

“Harold, we've been through this before. That wasn't a date,” Louis insisted.

“Unbelievable. You'll call me your boyfriend in front of your entire family, but you still won't admit it was a date.”  It appeared as though Harry had landed himself a stubborn pain in the arse for a boyfriend. Good thing he was fun to argue with.

“Well, you _are_ my boyfriend now. And that _wasn't_ a date, so.” Harry glanced over from the driver’s seat and found Louis smiling manically at him. _Pain in the arse._ Harry couldn't help himself though; he was helplessly endeared. Louis was positively beaming, radiating pure happiness. Glowing like the sun in the light of the moon which shouldn't even be possible. Somehow, everything became possible when it came to that boy.  Almost as if Louis, himself, was a bit of magic.

“Bet I can get you to admit it was a date.” Harry smiled while still keeping his eyes on the road.

“Looks like you got yourself another bet, Curly.”

 

_~~~~~_

 

They didn't end up camping out under the stars that night after all. Harry needed to get some actual rest before his early shift at the bakery the next day so they promised one another they'd do it another night.  He dropped Louis off at home, lingered in the front while giving him a soft kiss goodbye and then drove back to Holmes Chapel. When he climbed into bed a few minutes later, he noticed his phone was lit up with a missed message.

_Sweet dreams babycakes. x._

**You too sweetcheeks. x**

Harry laid awake for longer than he should have as thoughts of bright blue eyes and sunkissed skin ran crazy circles in his mind. The sound of Louis’ laugh still echoed in his ears and if he concentrated hard enough, he could practically feel Louis’ fingers brushing gently over his skin.

Just as he started to fade off to sleep, it occurred to him. _I’m in love with him._  The thought settled over him like a blanket, wrapping him with its warmth, and bringing a calming sense of peacefulness with it.   _I'm so ridiculously in love with him._ Maybe he had been all along.  His eyes drifted closed shortly after his epiphany and he fell asleep with a soft smile lingering upon his lips.

 

_~~~~~_

 

That ‘zero percent privacy’ estimate was sadly spot on.  Harry could think about little else besides getting his hands back on Louis again. Realizing that he was in love with him only intensified the problem.  His fingers itched with the desire to touch him.  Unfortunately, the two of them never seemed to be alone.  There was always someone in Louis’ family lurking nearby so the most they'd been able to get away with were quick blowies or hand jobs when they snuck off to the pool house or Harry's car.  And those were great, but Harry wanted more than that and if the way Louis’ eyes trailed after him were any indication, it was pretty clear he wasn't the only one.

It wasn't that Harry didn't enjoy spending time with the rest of Louis’ family because he absolutely did. In fact, Harry was becoming quite attached to the twins.  It felt like they were his little sisters too and he'd never been an older brother before. He quite liked it.  Louis and him had already played a game of footie with the girls as promised.  It turned out that their worries about him and Louis playing on the same team were for naught.

_“You are truly a terrible footie player,” Louis told him with a big smile on his face._

_“Heyyyyy,” Harry pouted, knowing full well it was true._

_“It's okay, babe. Gives me an excuse to spend more time with you on the pitch. Teach you my mad skills.”  Then, to prove that he really didn't mind, Louis leaned in to peck him on the lips._

_“Gross.” Lottie’s voice interrupted them. “Let's keep this PG boys. There are children present.”_

_They'd giggled into one another's mouths before breaking apart, and Harry hadn't missed the fond smiles Louis’ sisters shined their way. Even Lottie looked endeared._

So while they'd spent time together, they hadn't _been_ together since the night at Liam's. Not in the way that Harry craved. Had it been up to him, they would've spent far more time with their skin pressed together, clothing discarded, lips wet and shiny and bodies trembling as they slotted together like magnetic puzzle pieces. But none of that had happened. So Harry figured it was time for them to get creative.  

 

_~L~_

 

Louis loved his family more than anything in the world, but he desperately needed some space from them. He'd barely been able to kiss his boy properly, let alone spend any true quality time with him. The frustration was real. Because let's face it, Louis had a very pretty boyfriend who he'd quite like to ravish again. Preferably as soon as possible.

That's how they found themselves on an abandoned country road laying on top of Harry's car.  At Harry's insistence, they jumped into his car with the windows down and a bottle of chilled champagne, heading towards a place which was ‘guaranteed to be deserted’.  

They'd been blessed with another clear night in the country so it was the perfect time for them to finally go stargazing again. They took turns drinking straight from the bottle before laying back to appreciate the beauty of the sky.  A Sky Full of Stars played in the background as they stared up at the glittery sky above them.

“Did you ever notice that the first five letters of champagne spell champ?  And champagne is used to celebrate when someone wins something?  Get it, Lou? Champion? Champ? Champagne? I know it's actually named after Champagne, France, but isn't that a crazy coincidence?”

Louis couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. It pushed his eyes into half moons which pretty much guaranteed crinkles in the corners.  And while he'd never liked that part of himself, Harry had been pretty vocal about the fact that he enjoyed them ‘very much a lot’. Honest to god, Louis was in love with an idiot.

 _Holy shit. I'm in love with him._ The funny thing was the fact that it wasn’t really that big of a surprise.  It was kind of like watching a bubble pop on his outstretched finger.  He would've expected it to pop, but would've watched it happen with amazement anyway.  From early on, he'd known that Harry would be trouble for him. Perhaps he'd seen this coming too.

Louis was in love, and while he’d never been in love before, he didn't feel scared.  Not of Harry.  And he certainly wasn't going to run from his feelings. He’d already spent enough time running from Harry when they first met and he had no desire to do that anymore. The knowledge had only sunk in for a few seconds before Louis turned on his side to face him. “Haz?”

Harry flipped to his side as well and honest green eyes met blue. “Yeah?”

Louis reached over and grabbed a strand of Harry’s hair, twisting it idly around his finger.  “Pretty sure I'm in love with you.” The words tumbled from his lips easily, as if they'd been sitting there, waiting to come out for a while now.  Louis watched as a beautiful smile lit up Harry's face.

“Sometimes I think I might've been in love with you before we even met.  M’ not sure I can even explain it. But it feels like it's been there forever.”  Harry answered him with such sincerity that Louis thought he’d happily give him his whole heart if he didn’t already have it.

Nothing would ever compare to the happiness that Louis felt right then. He was light enough to float away on a white puffy cloud and it definitely wasn't down to the champagne. No. This was all because of a pretty curly-haired boy. _He loves me back._

He leaned his forehead against Harry's and closed his eyes, inhaling his smell. _His boy._ “I love you, Hazza.”

Warm breath fanned against his face, a combination of sweet wine and apples. “I love you, too, Lou. So much.”

Their lips pressed together in a slow kiss as Louis gently cradled Harry's cheek in his hand. They both took their time licking into one another's mouths, savoring this moment. It felt important to him and it seemed as though Harry agreed.  

Harry tasted so sweet, so good. He was perfect for him. They kept it soft and innocent for a while, but it turned into something decidedly less so when Harry bent him over his car. They came together, both calling out into the quiet air that surrounded them.  Afterwards, they cuddled back into the blanket which Harry now permanently kept in the boot of his car “just in case”.

Definitely a Boy Scout then.  A sappy one, too. But at least he was Louis’. That was the most important thing of all.

 

_~~~~~_

 

Was that a clicking sound?  Because it certainly sounded like one. And that right there was definitely a muffled giggle. Louis snuggled further into Harry's neck in an attempt to hide and got distracted when he inhaled the smell of all boy. _His boy_. His lips were pulling into a smile when the clicking sound went off again forcing Louis to crack an eye open.

“Mum,” he groaned. More giggling could be heard coming from behind her.  The twins, no doubt.  “Ohmygod Mum. No. Please stop.” She was standing over them with her phone angled in their direction and she didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed about it. Louis squeezed his eyes shut and burrowed into Harry again.

Perhaps it had been a bad idea to sleep under the stars last night. It's just that after their emotional night of confessions, he didn't fancy being apart from Harry even if it was only to sleep. Thankfully, he didn't need to work this morning so he'd agreed and the two of them had spread out that same blanket and camped out in Louis’ garden. They were still tangled around one another, and apparently now had an audience to contend with.

“Harry. Hazza,” he whisper-spoke in his ear. “Harry, wake up. Help me.  We're under attack. Me mum has a camera.”  Louis could feel Harry's body shaking quietly with laughter. Clearly he was awake and aware.

“Stop being dramatic, darling, and smile for the picture.  I need to send another shot of this to Anne.  Wait until she sees how precious.” _Another one?_  His mum was unbelievable. How was he the one being dramatic when she was the one filming them?

“Ugh,” he and Harry both groaned. Their arms tightened around one another as a protective measure against his mum.

Louis thanked all his lucky stars when her phone started ringing. Then he cursed them again when he realized that she was speaking to Anne.  Harry's fingers tightened around his the moment he figured it out.

“I know, love. Fizzy saw them this morning from her window and I had to come out to get a closer look.  So adorable together. Couldn't resist taking a few photos.”

“Mum. We're literally right here. Can you…?”

“Mhm. We were right about them all along.” Louis tensed up, but Harry brushed a thumb over his wrist and he felt calm again instantly. He reminded himself that they were in love and that everything else was minutiae. It didn't matter how they met or what led them to be here in one another's arms. The important part was that they were and Harry's continued caressing of his wrist was a helpful reminder.

“Okay. Sure. I'll ask them.” His mum was still talking to Anne, apparently. “Boys? Anne wants to know if you'd both like to come for Sunday roast today?”

As much as Louis would've loved to pass so that they weren't subjected to any more family gawking, this was Harry's family. They hadn't spent nearly as much time with them as they had with his own and he felt a bit guilty about that all of the sudden. “S’ okay with me, if you want to, Curly,” he reassured him in a quiet whisper.

“Um. Sure. Yeah. Can you please tell my mum, yes, Jay?” Harry's deep voice rumbled in response. He still sounded sleepy and Louis wished his mum would disappear so they could share some good morning kisses. They'd been robbed of a proper wake up. If nothing else, she should at least feel guilty about that.

“They said yes, darling.” Louis pressed a quick, soft kiss to the back of Harry's neck and hoped that his mum would be too busy talking to Anne to notice. “Sure. We would love to. What can I bring?”  Good god, it sounded like it was going to be a joint family affair now.  Wonderful. Beside him, Harry's body began to shake with quiet laughter again. And Louis joined him because what else could he really do anyway?

 

_~H~_

 

All in all, it hadn't been too terrible.  Harry had been a bit worried about it after Louis tensed up during his mum’s wake up call.  With a camera aimed at them, it was obviously understandable, but Harry couldn't help thinking back to all of Louis’ initial reservations about the two of them.  The last thing he wanted was for the very same thing which held him back in the first place to affect how Louis felt now. The two of them had finally arrived to such a happy place together and Harry dreaded anything coming between them.

It was a relief when that didn't happen at all. Instead, Louis kept his foot tangled with Harry's under the table and gave his thigh the occasional squeeze throughout dinner.  

When their mums started wine giggling about their lack of subtlety, Louis handled it brilliantly. _“Harry and I were talking about heading back to Manchester a few weeks early, actually. You know. Bit more private there, is all.”_

Harry didn't know how Louis even said it with a straight face, because it wasn't entirely true. Of course they were looking forward to having their own rooms with no family lurking nearby, but there's no way they'd ever actually cut their summer holidays short. No matter what Louis said, he adored his mum and sisters with his whole heart and he was enjoying this time with them.

Regardless of his intentions to follow through, his threat was extremely effective. All chatter about the two of them and their relationship ceased pretty much immediately.  And later that same evening, Robin discreetly handed Harry a set of keys to the bungalow. And that was brilliant for an altogether different reason.  It was time for Harry to cash in on their bet.

 

_~L~_

  


“That's not an outfit!” he protested loudly.

“Do I need to remind you of the rules again, Lou?” Harry smiled sweetly at him. He looked like a cherub, but Louis knew differently. His boy was sweet, but he was far from angelic.

Louis usually appreciated that fact, but right now he was feeling anything but appreciative. His boyfriend could not be serious. “But Harry…”

“You lost the bet fair and square, Lou. Now you best be getting dressed because I have somewhere to take you.”

Harry's dimples were out, but not even those could make this situation any better. Louis snarled at him as he grabbed the ‘outfit’ from Harry's bed and stomped off to the bathroom to change.

When he came back out, Harry's eyes instantly glazed over, making this slightly more tolerable. He loved that he could effect him that way. But where were they heading, he wondered?  People might actually see him in these and that was slightly terrifying.

“Here,” Harry handed him one of his oversized sweaters and Louis stared at him curiously. “For the ride. In case you get cold. You can take it off when we get there.”  

Louis shrugged and pulled it over his head, grateful for the extra bit of fabric. “Okay, Curly. All set. Ready for our first big date.” He started walking towards the door, happy when he heard Harry grumbling about ‘stubborn arse boyfriends’ and ‘first date my arse’ behind him. Serves him right for picking this monstrosity.

 

_~H~_

  


“Say it.” Harry demanded as he thrust into Louis, making sure to hit his prostate.

“Say what?” Louis arched into him.

“You know what.” He thrust again.

“Fuck. I like the country.” Louis whined. Harry was gonna wreck him.

“That's not it.”  This time, he bit Louis’ neck hard as he nailed his prostate straight on. “Come on, Lou. Say it.” One more thrust. He could feel Louis beginning to fall apart beneath him and he wanted him to, but first he wanted him to fucking say it. So he gripped his base firmly and whispered hotly into his ear, “ I'm not gonna let you come until you say it, Lou.”

“Fuck,” Louis huffed out, breathing heavily. His eyes were wild and face flushed pink all the way down to his chest. He was an absolute vision and Harry was so _so_ in love with him.  “Fine. It was a date.  Are you happy now? You're my boyfriend and we're dating.”

“I'm gonna date you _so hard_ ,” he whispered against his ear again, loving the shivers that ran through him in response. “Come for me.” Harry ordered as he bit down on another spot of Louis’ neck and then started pulsing inside of him as Louis clenched around him.

 

_~L~_

 

“You realize I won our second bet, too, don't you?” Harry asked him.  They were relaxing in the pool at Robin’s bungalow after what was possibly the most intense orgasm he'd ever experienced. It's a good job he had a bit of a pain kink since his boyfriend was part vampire.

Louis grinned back at him, “Too bad we never set up the stakes for it.”

Harry pouted down at him and it was a truly pathetic sight of puffy lips and sad doe eyes. “Aw. Calm down, Curly. You already [ got me in these ](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147952258780/fic-photos) for the first bet. Surely that's good enough, no?” Louis motioned to the ‘outfit’ that Harry had picked out for him: a pair of speedos covered entirely in bananas. He was the actual worst and Louis was very much in love with him.

A smile took the place of Harry's pout as he grabbed Louis by the bum, tugging him into his lap. “I knew they'd look great on you.” He leaned in to connect their lips.

“Yeah, well it's lucky you picked a place where we could be alone. That way, no one else could see me in this glorious banana hammock.  I'm sure you wouldn't want anyone else seeing _my_ banana.”  Louis raised his eyebrows at Harry teasingly.

“Mine,” Harry said simply while giggling against his lips and palming his cock over the suit.

Louis reached his hand to Harry's chest and settled it over top of his heart, “Mine,” he answered him, backing away slightly to look at his face. Harry's eyes were sparkling like the glittery sky at night.

“Yours,” he stated placing his hand over top of Louis’. They stared at one another for a few long seconds, smiling, and letting it sink in. They were in love. They still had a few more weeks of summer together and then they would head back to Uni in the same city. Where they would more than likely continue to be in love. Because Louis never intended to let this boy go, despite his terrible taste in swimwear.

“I love you, Lou.”

“Love you too, Curly.”

“Lou?”

“Yeah?”

“Bet I can top the banana speedos.” He grinned at Louis happily.

“Looks like you got yourself another bet, Curly.”

 

_~fin~_

 

_I would like to extend a huge thank you to both[Lexi](http://idareyoutotakealook.tumblr.com) and [Roni](http://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com) for putting up with me through this whole fic. I would never have posted any of this without your relentless encouragement ~ it has meant the absolute world to me. Thank you so much, I love you both very much a lot and want to bake you ten full sized chocolate cakes <3\. Having said that, any and all mistakes are my own._

_Thank you to everyone who has read and commented.  You have no idea how much kudos and comments can encourage a writer to write even more so thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you liked it and feel like sharing, here's a l[ink for a re-bloggable tumblr post](http://someonethatsfunny.tumblr.com/post/147552164810/i-hate-your-stupid-yellow-shorts-au-where-louis). _

_This is the last chapter although I may revisit it in the future for a one shot.  I love Harry's stupid yellow shorts very much a lot in case that wasn't obvious.  I would like to dedicate this_ _fic to those shorts.  May they continue to inspire future swimwear._

_Thank you again for reading. I hope that you enjoy :D_

 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Outtake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi (waves). Yes, this story was already complete, but I will be adding some outtakes to it periodically as inspiration strikes. This one is set a few weeks later in the summer, just before the boys return to Uni.
> 
> As usual, this is a work of pure fiction. Made strictly for fandom enjoyment. Please do not repost this anywhere without my permission. Please do not link it to any members of the band or their friends/family.
> 
> Also, this portion is un-beta'd so any and all mistakes are my own. Thank you again to anyone who reads this. I hope that you enjoy :D

“Missing something?” 

“You  _ will _ give them back to me, Harold. You understand that, don't you?”

“And if I don't?”

“My family is sleeping in that house, Harold.  You know as well as I do that they've heard us out here before. Surely you don't want to wake them up to find out, do you?  Now be a good lad and give them back before we get discovered.”

“You'll have to come over here and make me,” Harry demanded, sounding both confident and sure that Louis would do exactly that.  

_ Son of a bitch.  _ How the hell did Louis’ boyfriend always manage to win their showdowns?  _ Not this time,  _ he made a silent promise to himself. 

Without further hesitation, Louis made his way to the stairs and started to climb out of the pool. He made sure to put a little extra swing in his step, keeping his back towards Harry so that he could appreciate the full effect of the arse jiggle. Might as well use his best asset to win this battle. He could feel Harry's eyes burning holes into his skin and silently congratulated himself on his impending victory.  

Very slowly and deliberately, he walked over to the lounge chair he'd tossed a towel on earlier and bent over to spread it out. Louis was fairly certain that he heard a hiss of breath coming from behind him. Glancing backwards over his shoulder, he winked at Harry. “See something you like?” 

The twinkle in Harry’s eyes was quickly clouding over with lust instead.  Louis was more than a little satisfied when he whimpered a, “yes” as his hand disappeared beneath the water.   _ Good. _

Louis laid belly down on the lounger with his bum facing Harry, using his arms as pillows and wiggled around until he got comfortable.  The air felt cool against his wet naked skin, but he knew it wouldn’t last for long so he forced himself to lie there quietly as he counted down in his head.  He didn’t even make it to ten before he heard small splashes of water, indicative of Harry moving from the spot he’d been fixated to.  Not a moment later, water was dripping all over his skin as Harry draped his body overtop of his, whispering, “baby” against the shell of his ear.  He couldn’t help the shiver that ran through him.  Harry had some very enticing tactics and the hard ridge of his cock nestled against the cleft of Louis’ arse happened to be one of them.

“Yea?” Louis managed to reply.

“Wanna fuck you under the waterfall.”  Well, fuck.  His boyfriend had a real way with words sometimes.  Louis’ dick didn’t seem to care about the lack of eloquence since it began to thicken up regardless. Harry bit down on the back of his neck and then licked over the spot, soothing it.  “Want you, Lou.  Please?”

Apparently Louis was a sucker for manners because before he could even think about it, he heard himself agreeing.  He felt as Harry smiled against the back of his neck and all thoughts about winning fluttered away, quickly replaced with need and want.  It was crazy how much he wanted with Harry, things he’d never wanted with anyone before now.  Sometimes it made him dizzy just thinking about it.

A few minutes later Harry had Louis bracketed against the wall underneath of the waterfall as he pressed inside of him from behind.  It was loud with the water pounding down around them, but Harry kept Louis grounded by touching him everywhere so that he constantly felt connected despite not being able to see.  Fingers dug into his hips punishingly as lips rained wet kisses across his shoulder blades and neck. Harry’s chest slid against Louis’ back while his strong hands held him securely, their bodies rocking together like they were performing a well-rehearsed dance.  All Louis could feel was Harry, everywhere, all over his skin and body as the water roared around them.  “I love you,” he heard faintly over the noise. “Love you.  Love you so much.” Harry chanted the words over and over again as he thrust into Louis with wild abandonment.

Those words sent Louis flying over the edge.  Without either of them touching his cock, stream after stream of come shot out from him as he clenched around Harry, moaning out his release. Seconds later he could feel Harry pulsing inside of him as he bit down on Louis’ neck again to stop himself from screaming out loud.  Strong arms wrapped around him tightly as they both recovered their erratic breathing.

After Harry pulled out, he took care of the condom and then turned Louis around in his arms,  hugging him to his chest.  Louis finally found his words and told Harry teasingly that he didn’t need to steal his pants the next time that he wanted him.  “I’m kind of a sure thing for you, now, Curly.  You just have to ask.  You are my boyfriend, after all.” He could feel Harry giggling as his body shook against his and it made him smile.  Louis was so gone for this ridiculous boy.  “Oh and I love you too.  Silly amounts really.”

“Love you,” he heard whispered once more against his ear.

“Love you, too.  Think I can have my trunks back now?”

  
  
  



End file.
